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A  HISTORY        (     FEB   g  191Q 

OF    THE  ^^C^Cj;ir.f!    ^^'X^^^^ 

BAPTISTS  IN  THE  SOUTHERN  STATES 
EAST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI 


BY 
/ 

B.  F.  RILEY,  D.  D. 

AUTHOR   OF 
'■'■Alabama  As  It  Is,''''  "■History  of  the  Baptists  of  Alabama,''''  etc. 


"  Different  statements  of  truth,  different  forms  of  worship,  an  altered  out- 
ward life,  there  may  be  ;  but  the  spiritual  affections,  the  sense  of  duty,  the 
charity,  the  penitent  trust,  the  divine  desire,  the  hatred  of  wrong,  the  faith 
in  the  unseen,  which  constitute  true  religion,  belong  to  all  generations." 

S.  L.  Caldwell,  D.  D. 


PHILADELPHIA 

AMERICAN  BAPTIST  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY 

1420  Chestnut  Street 

1898 


CopjTight  1898  by  the 
American  Baptist  Publication  Society 


iFrom  tbe  Society's  own  press 


3Fot 

DISINTERESTED  KINDNESS,  SUBSTANTIAL 

SYMPATHY,     AND     FATHERLY     COUNSEL 

GIVEN     WHEN     MOST     NEEDED     BY     MY 

ELDEST  BROTHER 

z.  fm.  1R. 

TO    HIM    THIS    VOLUME    IS    AFFECTION- 
ATELY    DEDICATED     BY     THE     AUTHOR 


PREFACE 


In  the  preparation  of  this  volume  I  have  sought 
to  adhere  as  far  as  possible  to  the  intention  of  the 
series  and  to  embrace  as  much  as  I  could  of  the 
history  of  the  Baptist  denomination  within  the  dis- 
trict indicated  by  the  title.  Throughout  the  vol- 
ume, the  relative  importance  of  matter  has  con- 
trolled the  fullness  or  meagreness  of  detail  with 
which  it  has  been  treated.  Because  of  the  impossi- 
bility of  comprehending  within  a  work  of  restricted 
compass  everything  that  might  be  of  interest  to  the 
general  reader,  the  author  has  been  forced  to  leave 
untouched  much  valuable  material. 

It  will  be  observed,  from  the  plan  of  the  work, 
that  the  history  has  been  gathered  around  the  most 
eventful  epochs  or  periods  that  have  distinguished 
the  annals  of  the  Baptist  denomination  in  the  older 
States  of  the  South.  The  history  has  been  un- 
folded under  such  subjects  as  admit  of  easy  applica- 
tion to  all  the  States  alike.  By  means  of  such 
treatment,  the  essential  facts  of  a  general  denomina- 
tional history  of  the  States  of  the  South,  east  of  the 
Mississippi,  are  easily  presented. 

Indebtedness  is  acknowledged  mainly  to  such 
works  as :  "  The  Minutes  of  the  Southern  Baptist 

5 


b  PREFACE 

Convention,"  from  1845  to  the  present  time; 
Cathcart's  "  Baptist  Encyclopedia "  ;  Armitage's 
"  History  of  the  Baptists  " ;  Semple's  "  History  of 
the  Baptists  of  Virginia "  ;  Spencer's  "  History  of 
the  Baptists  of  Kentucky  "  ;  Paxton's  "  History  of 
the  Baptists  of  Louisiana  "  ;  Campbell's  "  History 
of  the  Georgia  Baptists,"  and  Boykin's  "  History 
of  Georgia  Baptists,  with  Biographical  Compen- 
dium"; Vedder's  "Short  History  of  the  Baptists"; 
Newman's  "American  Church  History  (Baptists)"; 
Carroll's  "  Religious  Forces  of  the  United  States," 
in  the  "American  Church  History  Series"  ;  Cook's 
"Story  of  the  Baptists";  Hervey's  "Story  of  Bap- 
tist Missions  "  ;  Tupper's  "  Foreign  Missions  of  the 
Southern  Baptist  Convention,"  also  his  "Decade  of 
Foreign  Missions,  1880  to  1890"  ;  Taylor's  "Vir- 
ginia Baptist  Ministers  "  ;  Foster's  "  Mississippi 
Baptist  Preachers "  ;  Borum's  "  Baptist  Preachers 
of  Tennessee " ;  J.  L.  M.  Curry's  "  Struggles 
and  Triumphs  of  Virginia  Baptists"  ;  Broadus' 
"  Memoir  of  James  P.  Boyce,"  and  Sampey's 
"  Southern  Baptist  Theological   Seminary." 

For  special  kindnesses  shown,  the  author  is  in- 
debted to  Drs.  Lansing  Burrows,  of  Georgia,  and 
H.  F.  Sproles,  of  Mississippi,  Mr.  J.  L.  Furman, 
of  Louisiana,  and  the  late  W.  G.  Whilden,  Esq., 

of  South  Carolina. 

B.  F.  R. 

University  of  Ga.,  Jan.,  1898. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  Early  Traces '. 9 

II.  Struggle  for  Freedom 50 

III.  Southern  Baptists  and  the  Revolution  .    .  80 

IV.  Denominational  Expansion 110 

V.  Educational  Work 131 

VI.  Divergent  Views 165 

VII.  Interest  in  Missions  Prior  to  the  Separa- 
tion      179 

VIII.  Formation  of  the  Southern  Baptist  Con- 
vention       199 

IX.  Work  Under  Changed  Conditions  ....  215 

X.  The  Southern  Baptist  Theological  Sem- 
inary       241 

XI.  Sunday-school  Work 266 

XII.  Collateral  Agencies 285 

XIII.  Woman's  Work 299 

7 


8  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XIV.  Colored  Baptists  and  their  Work    ....    310 

XV.  Conclusion 329 

APPENDIX  A. 
Other  Baptist  Families 337 

APPENDIX  B. 

Institutions  for  Women  and  Value  of  Prop- 
erties     361 


HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 


CHAPTER  I 

EARLY  TRACES 


ABOUT  the  year  1682  a  body  of  respectable 
and  well-to-do  immigrants  left  their  homes  in 
the  southwestern  portion  of  England,  and  under 
the  lead  of  Humphrey  Blake,  a  brother  of  the  fa- 
mous British  admiral,  set  sail  for  America,  Land- 
ing upon  the  Carolina  coast  near  the  present  site 
of  Charleston,  they  proceeded  a  short  distance  up 
Cooper  River  and  built  their  temporary  homes  upon 
its  western  bank.  The  respectability  of  these  im- 
migrants led  so  competent  an  authority  as  Gra- 
hame,  in  his  "  Colonial  History  of  the  United 
States,"  to  denominate  them  a  "  most  valuable  addi- 
tion "  to  the  Carolina  population.  From  the  same 
source  we  learn  that  Mr.  Blake  so  generously  shared 
in  the  convictions  of  the  dissenters,  whose  leader  he 
became,  that  he  "  devoted  his  fortune "  to  the  fur- 
therance of  the  scheme  to  emigrate  to  America  in 
order  that  they  might  escape  threatened  persecu- 
tion, the  terrors  of  which  were  not  a  little  enhanced 
by  the  apprehended  accession  of  the  Duke  of  York 
to  the  throne. 

9 


10     HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

Among  the  colonists  who  landed  near  Charleston 
was  Joseph  Blake,  a  nephew  of  the  leader  of  the 
party,  who  though  not  a  Baptist,  was  nevertheless 
in  profound  sympathy  with  the  denomination  in  its 
views  respecting  religious  freedom.  His  wife,  Lady 
Blake,  was  a  most  earnest  Baptist,  as  was  also  her 
mother,  Lady  Axtell.  Joseph  Blake  was  destined 
to  play  a  conspicuous  part  in  the  future  history  of 
the  province.  Already  the  friend  and  trustee  of 
Lord  Berkeley,  one  of  the  lords-proprietors  of  the 
province,  he  was  afterward  chosen,  together  with 
Paul  Grimball,  a  Baptist,  and  five  others,  to  revise 
"The  Fundamental  Constitution"  originally  framed 
by  the  celebrated  John  Locke.  The  conduct  of 
Mr.  Blake,  from  the  beginning  to  the  close  of  his 
career  as  governor  of  the  province,  showed  that  he 
was  an  uncompromising  advocate  of  religious  free- 
dom. 

About  the  time  of  the  occurrence  of  the  events 
just  noted,  William  Screven  fled  from  Kittery, 
Maine,  with  a  party  of  persecuted  folk  and  joined 
the  colony  upon  Cooper  River.  Indications  favor 
the  presumption  that  it  was  the  result  of  a  mutual 
understanding  that  these  harmonious  bodies  of  colo- 
nists were  thus  brought  together.  One  of  the  most 
significant  facts  is  that  the  locality  of  the  combined 
colonists  was  named  Somerton.  In  his  history  of 
the  English  Baptists,  Ivimey  mentions  the  congre- 
gation at  Somerton,  in  Somersetshire,  England,  as 
co-operating  with  other  congregations,  in  1656,  in 


EARLY    TRACES  11 

publishing  a  Confession  of  Faith.  This  Confession 
was  signed  by  twenty-five  persons,  among  whom 
was  William  Screven,  of  Somerton.  Twenty-five 
years  later  we  find  William  Screven  at  Kittery,  on 
the  Piscataqua  River,  in  Maine,  engaged  in  holding 
religious  meetings  in  his  own  house.  There  is  little 
doubt  of  the  identity  of  the  William  Screven  of 
Old  England  with  that  of  New  England. 

Subjected  to  a  vigorous  persecution,  Mr.  Screven 
left  New  England  for  the  South  and  reached 
Charleston  about  the  close  of  1682.  To  a  constitu- 
tion and  subscription  of  a  church  covenant  adopted 
at  Kittery,  September  25,  1682,  the  First  Church 
of  Charleston  traces  its  origin.  The  earliest  avail- 
able records  indicate  that  the  settlement  of  the 
colony  under  Screven  at  Charleston,  was  regarded 
as  being  only  a  transfer  of  the  seat  of  worship  of 
the  persecuted  flock  which  had  been  gathered  on 
the  Piscataqua.  In  a  historical  sketch  of  the  First 
Church  of  Charleston,  which  was  inserted  in  the 
original  minute  book  of  the  Charleston  Association, 
it  is  particularly  stated  that  most  of  the  members 
came  with  William  Screven  from  the  Piscataqua  re- 
gion. These  Baptists  on  Cooper  River,  derived 
partly  from  England  and  partly  from  Maine,  were 
the  first  to  settle  in  the  South.  The  strong  proba- 
bility is  that  while  they  observed  social  worship  in 
some  form  at  Somerton,  their  seasons  of  stated  wor- 
ship were  held  Sunday  after  Sunday  in  Charleston. 

Every  Sunday  morning  the  families  of  the  Som- 


12      HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

erton  settlement  would  descend  the  river  in  their 
boats,  following  the  outgoing  tide,  spend  a  large  por- 
tion of  the  day  worshiping  in  Charleston,  and  in  the 
afternoon  row  leisurely  back  up  the  river  to  their 
homes.  The  time  for  beginning  worship  in  the 
morning  was  made  to  depend  upon  the  capricious 
subsidence  of  the  tide,  and  it  was  as  liable  to  take 
place  at  high  noon  as  at  ten  o'clock.  Prior  to  the 
erection  of  a  meeting-house  in  Charleston,  worship 
was  held  "at  the  house  of  one  William  Chapman 
on  King  Street."  There  is  little  doubt  that  the 
Baptists  were  the  first  to  erect  a  church  edifice  in 
Charleston. 

Naturally  enough  William  Screven  became  the 
pastor  of  the  original  Baptist  church  established  by 
the  combined  colonists  at  Somerton  and  thereabouts. 
He  served  in  this  capacity  until  1706,  when  he  re- 
tired to  the  head  of  Winyaw  Bay,  purchased  land 
and  built  a  home  where  Georgetown  now  is,  and 
though  quite  an  old  man,  continued  to  labor  as  a 
missionary  in  the  destitute  settlements  about  him. 
Upon  the  retirement  of  Mr.  Screven  from  the  pas- 
torate of  the  church,  a  preacher  from  England, 
named  White,  was  called  to  succeed  him.  Mr. 
White's  pastoral  career  at  Charleston  was  a  brief 
one,  for  he  soon  died.  In  their  perplexity,  the 
membership  turned  again  to  their  venerable  ex- 
pastor  for  a  supply.  About  the  same  time  Mr. 
Screven  received  a  call  from  the  First  Church  of 
Boston,  to  which   he   made  reply,   "Our  minister 


EARLY    TRACES  13 

that  came  from  England  is  dead,  and  I  can  by  no 
means  be  spared."  In  spite  of  the  infirmities  of 
age,  Mr.  Screven  served  the  church  seven  years 
longer,  and  died  October  10,  1713,  at  the  age  of 
eighty-four. 

Shortly  after  the  colony  under  Humphrey  Blake 
left  England,  another  under  the  direction  of  Lord 
Cardross,  a  nobleman  from  the  north  of  England, 
came  to  Carolina,  bringing  with  him  a  company  of 
North  Britons,  most  of  whom  were  Baptists,  and 
settled  at  Port  Royal  Island.  But  encountering  the 
hostility  of  the  neighboring  Indians  and  especially 
that  of  the  Spanish  settlement  at  St.  Augustine, 
they  removed  their  residence  some  time  before  1686 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Edisto  River.^  Many  of  these 
became  members  of  the  First  Church  of  Charles- 
ton, thereby  greatly  increasing  its  strength  and  effi- 
ciency. 

In  1700  the  population  of  Charleston  and  the 
adjacent  region  numbered  about  five  thousand  five 
hundred,  the  larger  portion  of  which  was  within 
the  city  proper.  At  that  date  all  the  facilities  for 
divine  worship  and  all  the  schools  connected  with 
the  province  were  confined  to  the  limits  of  Charles- 
ton. The  outlying  population  afforded  an  excellent 
field  for  missionary  labor,  and  right  zealously  was 
the  opportunity  seized  upon  by  the  Baptists,  who 
were  the  pioneers  of  missions  in  South  Carolina. 

^Hewit,  "History  of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia,"  Vol.  I., 
p.  89. 


14     HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

The  English  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the 
Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts  did  not  enter  this  field 
until  1707,  but  wherever  their  representatives  went 
they  found  that  they  had  been  preceded  by  the  Bap- 
tists.^ 

At  the  period  of  Mr.  Screven's  death  there  was 
in  the  Carolina  province  a  population  of  about  fif- 
teen thousand,  fully  one-half  of  which  was  slaves. 
The  virgin  soil  was  productive  of  the  most  gratify- 
ing harvests,  the  forests  yielded  an  abundance  of 
the  finest  timbers  for  distant  markets,  the  woods 
abounded  in  game,  and  the  streams  and  seas  were 
filled  with  excellent  fish.  Industry  and  thrift  in 
commercial  quarters  were  equaled  only  by  the  dili- 
gence of  the  local  missionary. 

William  Peartt,  who  was  second  in  the  order  of 
pastoral  succession  to  Screven,  was  a  most  assidu- 
ous and  enterprising  advocate  of  church  extension. 
He  was  pastor  of  the  church  at  Charleston  for  a 
period  of  ten  years,  during  which  time  he  was  in- 
strumental in  the  erection  of  houses  of  worship  on 
Edisto  Island,  on  Ashley  River,  and  in  Stono,  six- 
teen miles  distant  from  Charleston.^ 

As  opportunity  would  offer,  the  Charleston  pastor 
would  minister  to  these  mission  stations  in  person, 
or  else  authorize  some  of  its  gifted  members  to  do 
80.  In  this  way  William  Tilley,  first  as  a  licen- 
tiate of  the  mother  church  in  Charleston,  and  after- 

1  Humphrey,  pp.  88,  95,  108,  etc. 
^Manly,  "  Two  Centuries,"  p.  94. 


EARLY   TRACES  15 

ward  as  an  ordained  minister,  rendered  valuable 
service  on  Edisto  Island.  None  of  these  stations 
became  organized  churches  until  some  years  after 
this  period. 

Virginia. — Although  Virginia  was  settled  as 
early  as  1607,  a  Baptist  church  was  not  organized 
until  1714,  more  than  a  century  afterward.  That 
there  were  Baptists  scattered  throughout  some  por- 
tions of  Virginia  seems  quite  clear.  There  were 
dissenters  in  the  province  as  early  as  1648,  but  it  is 
claimed  that  they  were  for  the  most  part  Congre- 
gationalists.'  In  the  Assembly  of  1661-62,  there 
was  an  act  passed  which  seems  to  have  been  di- 
rected against  the  Baptists : 

Whereas,  Many  schismatical  persons,  out  of  their 
aversion  to  the  orthodox  established  rehgion,  or  out  of 
the  newfangled  conceits  of  their  own  heretical  inventions, 
refuse  to  have  their  children  baptized, 

Be  it  therefore  Enacted,  That  all  persons  that  in  con- 
tempt of  the  divine  sacrament  of  baptism,  shall  refuse 
when  they  may  carry  their  child. to  a  lawful  minister  in 
that  county,  to  have  them  baptized,  shall  be  amerced 
two  thousand  pounds  of  tobacco,  half  to  the  informer, 
half  to  the  public. 

Notwithstanding  the  English  Act  of  Toleration 
was  adopted  in  1689,  it  did  not  become  operative  in 
Virginia  for  twenty  years.  When  the  provisions  of 
the  Act  began  to  assume  practical  shape,  in  the 
early  years  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the  Baptists 

'Newman,  "  American  Church  History,"  Vol.  II.,  p.  229. 


16      HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

of  the  province  began  to  show  themselves,  espe- 
cially in  the  Isle  of  Wight. 

Responding  to  the  first  note  of  encouragement,  a 
small  body  of  Baptists  in  Isle  of  Wight  County 
appealed  to  the  London  Association  for  missionaries. 
Two  missionaries,  Robert  Nordin  and  Thomas 
White,  were  sent  out  from  London  in  response  to 
this  demonstration  from  Virginia,  but  the  latter  of 
these  died  before  he  reached  the  shores  of  America. 
Mr.  Nordin,  however,  reached  the  province  safely, 
and  at  once  threw  himself  zealously  into  the  work 
of  evangelization.  In  anticipation  of  the  advent 
of  pastors  from  England,  a  body  of  Baptists  seemed 
already  to  have  been  formed  at  Burleigh,  on  the 
south  bank  of  the  James.  The  constitution  of  the 
church,  which  is  now  known  as  Mill  Swamp,  was 
promptly  effected,  the  organization  taking  place  in 
1714.  Later,  Nordin  was  reinforced  from  England 
by  two  other  missionaries,  Messrs.  Jones  and  Mintz. 
From  Burleigh,  in  the  county  of  Isle  of  Wight, 
these  ardent  missionaries  crossed  over  into  the 
county  of  Surrey,  and  constituted  another  church 
at  Branden.  This  is  believed  to  be  the  same  which 
is  known  to-day  as  Otterdam's  Church. 

About  1743  Baptist  missionaries  from  Maryland 
entered  the  northern  portion  of  Virginia,  which  was 
now  becoming  thickly  populated.  The  prime 
movers  in  this  evangelistic  undertaking  are  sup- 
posed to  have  been  Edmund  Hays  and  Thomas 
Yates,   of   the  Sater's  Baptist  Church,  Maryland. 


EARLY   TRACES  17 

In  the  midst  of  the  expanding  settlements  in  Berk- 
ley, London,  and  Rockingham  counties,  these  Mary- 
land missionaries  found  a  fruitful  field  for  evan- 
gelistic effort.  These  ministers  were  succeeded  in 
this  portion  of  Virginia  by  Revs.  Loveall,  Heton, 
and  Garrard,  the  last  named  of  whom  removed  from 
Pennsylvania  in  1754.  With  consuming  zeal  they 
went  from  house  to  house  in  the  different  settle- 
ments delivering  the  message  of  salvation.  As 
opportunity  would  offer  they  would  appoint  occa- 
sions for  holding  public  services,  which  were  almost 
invariably  attended  with  remarkable  demonstrations 
of  interest.  Not  infrequently  persons  would  ride 
the  distance  of  forty  miles  in  order  to  hear  the  gos- 
pel. Vast  crowds  would  assemble  under  the  shades 
of  wide-spreading  trees,  bush  arbors,  and  even 
under  spacious  stock  sheds,  in  order  to  listen  to 
preaching.  As  a  result  of  this  missionary  energy, 
Opecon,  Mill  Creek,  Ketocton,  and  other  churches 
along  the  northern  border  were  constituted  and 
promptly  became  members  of  the  Philadelphia 
Association. 

At  this  period  two  valuable  accessions  were 
gained  from  the  Pedobaptists  in  the  persons  of  Shu- 
bael  Stearns  and  Daniel  Marshall.  Mr.  Stearns 
came  to  the  Baptists  from  the  New  Lights,  or  Sepa- 
rates, and  was  converted  under  the  preaching  of 
Whitefield  about  the  year  1740.  As  a  New  Light 
he  engaged  in  preaching  for  a  number  of  vears, 
when  his  attention  was  directed  to  the  examination 


18      HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

of  the  New  Testament  upon  the  matter  of  baptism. 
The  result  led  to  the  renunciation  of  his  former 
views  and  to  his  union  with  a  Baptist  church.  He 
was  immersed  by  Wait  Palmer,  at  Tolland,  Con- 
necticut, on  May  20,  1751,  and  was  at  once  or- 
dained to  the  work  of  the  ministry.  After  contin- 
uing for  a  brief  period  in  New  England,  Mr. 
Stearns  removed  to  Virginia,  where  he  labored  in 
the  counties  of  Berkley  and  Hampshire.  Subse- 
quently he  settled  in  Guilford  County,  North  Caro- 
lina, where  we  shall  have  occasion  to  hear  of  him  at 
a  later  period. 

Daniel  Marshall  was  reared  a  Presbyterian,  in  the 
ranks  of  which  denomination  he  served  as  deacon 
for  a  period  of  nearly  twenty  years.  Brought  under 
the  influence  of  Whitefield's  preaching,  he  was  fired 
with  new  zeal  and  earnestly  craved  the  opportunity 
of  breaking  the  bread  of  life  to  the  Mohawk  In- 
dians near  the  headwaters  of  the  Susquehanna,  He 
undertook  a  mission  to  the  Indians,  but  hostilities 
among  the  savage  tribes  prompted  his  removal  to 
Connogogig,  Pennsylvania,  and  thence  to  a  point 
near  Winchester,  Virginia.  Being  led  to  an  impar- 
tial investigation  of  the  faith  and  order  of  the  Bap- 
tists, he  became  united  with  a  Baptist  church,  was 
immersed,  and  straightway  licensed  to  preach.  Like 
Stearns,  he  tarried  for  a  period  in  Virginia,  then 
moved  toward  the  South  and  settled  at  Hugwarry, 
North  Carolina.  Marshall  was  a  brother-in-law  to 
Stearns. 


EARLY    TRACES  19 

The  earliest  Baptist  churches  of  Virginia,  like 
most  of  those  first  organized  in  the  South,  were 
deeply  infected  with  Arminianism.  This  was  due 
to  the  fact  that  many  of  the  earliest  preachers  in 
the  South  came  direct  from  England  and  were  the 
exponents  of  the  principles  of  the  General  Baptists 
of  Great  Britain.  While  the  ordinances  of  baptism 
and  the  Lord's  Supper  were  stoutly  insisted  upon 
by  these  early  preachers,  faith  and  conversion  were 
not  demanded  as  prerequisites. 

To  the  Philadelphia  Association  the  Baptists  of 
the  South  are  chiefly  indebted  for  a  correction  of 
this  laxness  in  doctrine.  This  Association  deputed 
Benjamin  Miller  and  Peter  P.  Vanhorn  to  travel 
southward  among  the  Baptist  churches  "  and  to  set 
things  in  order  among  them."  By  some,  these  men 
of  God  were  received  with  distrustfulness,  but  gen- 
erally they  were  most  cordially  welcomed  by  the 
churches,  and  listened  to  with  marked  attention. 
The  result  of  their  protracted  tour  through  the 
States  of  the  South  was  a  general  abandonment  of 
flabbiness  of  practice  and  an  adoption  of  the  views 
of  the  Regular  Baptists. 

Maryland. — When  we  turn  to  Maryland  to 
seek  for  the  first  traces  of  the  Baptists  in  that 
province,  we  find  a  condition  of  affairs  entirely  dif- 
ferent from  that  which  exists  in  the  province  oi 
Virginia.  In  Maryland,  the  earliest  Baptists  were 
favored  with  far  greater  freedom  than  was  enjoyed 


20     HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

by  their  brethren  on  the  west  side  of  the  Potomac. 
The  civil  and  religious  spirit  of  that  early  period 
finds  expression  in  an  enactment  of  the  Assembly 
of  Maryland  in  1649  : 

That  no  persons  professing  to  believe  in  Jesus  Christ 
shall  be  molested  in  the  respect  of  their  religion,  or  the 
free  exercise  thereof,  or  be  compelled  to  the  belief  or 
practice  of  any  other  religion  against  their  consent,  so 
that  they  be  not  unfaithful  to  the  proprietary,  or  conspire 
against  civil  government.  That  persons  molesting  any 
other  in  respect  of  his  religious  tenets  shall  pay  treble 
damages  to  the  party  aggrieved  and  twenty  to  the  pro- 
prietary. That  the  reproaching  any  with  opprobrious 
epithets  of  religious  distinctions  shall  forfeit  ten  shill- 
ings to  the  person  aggrieved.  That  any  one  speaking 
reproachfully  against  the  Blessed  Virgin,  or  the  Apos- 
tles, shall  forfeit  five  pounds,  but  blasphemy  against 
God  shall  be  punished  with  death.  ^ 

At  the  time  of  the  enactment  of  this  law,  Mary- 
land was  under  Roman  Catholic  domination.  It  is 
a  matter  of  surprise  to  find  expressed  such  liberal 
sentiments  toward  dissenters.  This  becomes  more 
remarkable  still  when  we  bear  in  mind  that  at  this 
time  the  Baptists  were  stoutly  opposing  the  en- 
croachments of  Rome  in  different  portions  of  Mary- 
land. In  1709  a  representative  of  the  General 
Baptists,  named  Henry  Sater's,  reached  Maryland 
from  England  and  interested  himself  at  once  in  the 
propagation  of  Baptist  principles.  The  result  of 
his  labors  was  the  constitution  of  a  church  at  Chest- 
iChalmer,  "Political  Annals,"  Vol.  I.,  p.  218. 


EARLY   TRACES  21 

nut  Ridge,  in  1742,  which  was  the  first  Baptist 
church  founded  in  Maryland.  This  church,  to 
which  was  given  the  name  Sater's,  is  located 
about  ten  miles  north  of  Baltimore,  where  worship 
is  maintained  to  the  present  time.  The  church 
thrived  almost  from  the  beginning,  the  membership 
increasing  so  rapidly  that  within  twelve  years  after 
its  constitution  it  was  enabled  to  send  forth  a  colony 
to  organize  a  church  at  Winter  Run,  in  Harford 
County.  This  church,  which  bore  the  name  of  Har- 
ford, was  ministered  to  by  Rev.  John  Davis,  who 
died  in  1809,  greatly  honored  for  his  works'  sake. 
The  members  of  the  Sater's  Church  manifested 
considerable  missionary  zeal  in  the  early  portion  of 
its  history  in  bringing  about  the  organization  of 
Baptist  churches  in  the  northern  portion  of  Vir- 
ginia. Its  later  history,  however,  has  not  been  so 
prosperous  because  of  a  defectiveness  in  faith  which 
has  well-nigh  sapped  its  life.  Very  soon  after  the 
organization  of  these  two  churches,  Baptist  interests 
in  Maryland  began  to  drift  toward  the  city  of  Balti- 
more. The  First  Baptist  Church  of  that  city  was 
organized  on  January  15,  1785.  Its  original  mem- 
bers, only  eleven  in  number,  were  a  colony  from 
the  Harford  Church,  with  the  exception  of  the  pas- 
tor, Rev.  Lewis  Richards.  The  Harford  Church 
was  the  parent  also  of  two  other  organizations,  the 
churches  at  Taneytown  and  Gunpowder.  The  Sec- 
ond Church  of  Baltimore  was  constituted  by  Rev. 
John  Healey,  in  1797.     Two  years  previous  to  this. 


22      HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

Mr.  Healey,  in  company  with  five  others,  came  from 
England  to  Baltimore.  This  eminently  useful  man 
of  God  enjoyed  the  rare  distinction  of  being  pastor 
of  the  same  church  for  the  period  of  more  than 
fifty  years.  He  also  enjoyed  the  honor  of  organ- 
izing the  first  Baptist  Sunday-school  in  Maryland, 
and  indeed  in  the  South.  Almost  from  the  begin- 
ning, Baptist  interests  in  Maryland  were  centered 
in  the  city  of  Baltimore. 

North  Carolina. — The  exact  date  of  the  first 
settlement  of  Baptists  in  North  Carolina,  we  have 
no  means  of  knowing.  In  his  "  History  of  North 
Carolina,"  Moore  gives  the  date  of  1653  as  being 
that  of  the  advent  of  Baptists  into  the  province. 
Without  indicating  the  period  of  their  first  appear- 
ance in  North  Carolina,  Morgan  Edwards,  who  is 
excellent  authority,  states  that  there  ^vere  Baptists 
in  the  province  in  1695,  and  Doctor  Hawks,  the 
Episcopal  church  historian,  mentions  the  names  of 
a  number  of  Baptists  in  the  eastern  counties  of 
North  Carolina  in  connection  with  a  period  preced- 
ing the  eighteenth  century.  The  question  of  their 
first  entrance  into  the  province  has  given  rise  to 
much  speculation.  The  suggestion  is  not  without 
basis  of  reason  that  Baptist  churches  existed  in 
North  Carolina  before  they  did  in  Virginia.  The 
religious  liberty  enjoyed  by  the  inhabitants  of 
North  Carolina  exceeded  that  of  many  other  colo- 
nies.    While  this  freedom  so  wddely  and  whole- 


EARLY   TRACES  23 

somely  prevailed  in  this  province,  the  dissenters  of 
Virginia  were  sternly  repressed  by  the  dominating 
establishment  and  by  statutes  that  were  cruel  and 
exacting.  The  Carolinas  were  not  divided  until 
1729,  and  yet  we  find  Baptists  at  Charleston  as 
early  as  1683,  almost  a  half-century  before.  Is  it 
probable  that  a  region  so  inviting  as  was  North 
Carolina  would  have  been  neglected  by  Baptists 
while  they  flourished  on  the  same  coast  both  north 
and  south,  in  the  one  instance  for  almost  fifty  years 
and  in  the  other  nearly  a  decade  and  a  half,  and 
under  the  most  oppressive  conditions  ?  Still  we  are 
not  able  to  find  an  organic  body  of  Baptists  in 
North  Carolina  earlier  than  1727,  at  which  time  a 
church,  said  to  be  the  first,  was  constituted  on 
Chowan  River  in  Perquimans  County  by  the  Rev. 
Paul  Palmer.  It  has  usually  been  assumed  that  the 
North  Carolina  Baptists  were  emigrants  from  Vir- 
ginia when,  for  reasons  already  given,  a  reversal  of 
the  presumption  would  be  more  credible.  For  from 
the  period  when  the  church  was  established  upon 
the  Chowan  to  1755,  a  period  of  twenty-eight  years, 
the  prosperity  of  the  North  Carolina  Baptists  was 
phenomenal.  They  not  only  grew  rapidly  in  num- 
bers, but  they  were  remarkably  aggressive.  Dur- 
ing the  same  period  the  Baptists  of  tidewater  Vir- 
ginia were  a  struggling  and  unprogressive  folk. 

Paul  Palmer,  the  reputed  "  father  of  the  Baptists 
of  North  Carolina,"  hailed  from  the  Welsh  Tract 
Church,  Pennsylvania,  and  was  a  correspondent  of 


24      HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

John  Comer,  of  Newport,  R.  I.  The  probability  is 
not  without  strength  that  this  remarkable  man  was 
attracted  to  North  Carolina  because  of  the  unmo- 
lested enjoyment  of  freedom  on  the  part  of  the 
Baptists  of  that  region. 

Like  those  of  the  colonies  already  noticed,  save 
that  of  South  Carolina,  the  Baptists  of  North  Caro- 
lina were  General  Baptists  who  held  that  the  pro- 
visions of  the  gospel  were  general  in  their  nature. 
Screven  and  his  followers  at  Charleston  were  Par- 
ticular Baptists,  or  Calvinists,  who  held  rigidly  to 
the  doctrines  of  predestination  and  particular  elec- 
tion. AVlien  in  1728  the  tide  was  turned  against 
the  General  Baptists,  who  had  hitherto  prevailed, 
and  the  Particular  Baptists  assumed  denominational 
direction  in  America,  which  result  was  largely  due 
to  Whitefield  and  the  Calvinists,  Philadelphia  and 
Charleston  became  two  great  centers  of  Calvinistic 
influence.  We  have  already  noticed  the  action 
taken  by  the  Philadelphia  Association  in  commis- 
sioning Miller  and  Vanhorn  to  travel  southward  to 
correct  the  evils  growing  out  of  the  Arminian  prin- 
ciples held  by  the  General  Baptists.  Tliis  action 
was  taken  by  the  Philadelphia  Association  in  the 
autumn  of  1755.  The  Charleston  Association  had 
taken  the  same  step  in  the  spring  of  1755  when 
that  body  sent  John  Gano  and  Robert  Williams 
upon  the  same  mission.  The  combined  efforts  of 
these  evangelistic  commissioners  were  eminently 
successful.     The  year  1755  marks  the  date  of  the 


EARLY   TEACES  25 

reformation  of  the  Baptist  churches  of  North  Caro- 
lina. 

The  church  formed  by  Palmer  in  1727  was  fol- 
lowed by  the  constitution  of  the  Meherrin  Church 
by  Joseph  Parker  in  1729,  and  by  the  organization 
of  another  at  Sandy  Run  in  1740,  which  was  made 
up  of  a  colony  from  the  Meherrin  Church,  and  by 
still  another  under  the  auspices  of  William  So- 
journer in  1742,  in  Halifax  County.  Ten  years 
later  w^e  find  that  the  number  of  churches  had  in- 
creased to  sixteen. 

When  Gano,  Williams,  Miller,  and  Vanhorn 
reached  North  Carolina  they  found  the  Baptist 
churches  in  a  most  deplorable  condition.  To  bap- 
tism and  the  Lord's  Supper  were  added,  as  of  about 
equal  authority,  the  rites  of  love-feasts,  laying  on 
of  hands  after  baptism,  washing  of  feet,  anointing 
the  sick,  the  right  hand  of  fellowship,  the  kiss  of 
charity,  and  the  public  consecration  of  children 
without  christening.  Induced  by  degrees  to  aban- 
don these  doctrinal  appendages,  the  churches  were 
ultimately  persuaded  to  adopt  the  London  Confes- 
sion of  Faith. 

The  stoutest  opponent  of  this  reformatory  move- 
ment was  Joseph  Parker,  who,  in  the  lead  of  the 
Meherrin  Church,  vehemently  protested  against  the 
adoption  of  the  views  of  the  Particular  Baptists. 
But  with  such  overwhelming  power  did  the  reforma- 
tion proceed,  that  even  as  doughty  an  opponent  as 
Parker  succumbed,  and  Calvinism  was  permanently 


26      HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

established  among  the  Baptist  churches  of  North 
Carolina.  Special  distinction  is  to  be  accorded  to 
the  Baptists  of  this  province  because  of  their  rela- 
tion to  the  prestige  enjoyed  by  the  denomination  in 
the  South. 

Under  the  leadership  of  Shubael  Stearns  and 
Daniel  Marshall,  North  Carolina  became  the  center 
and  power  of  influence  of  the  great  movement  for 
liberty  on  the  part  of  the  Separate  Baptists.  This 
spirit  of  freedom  which  came  to  pervade  the  ranks 
of  the  denomination  throughout  South  Carolina, 
Georgia,  Virginia,  Kentucky,  and  Tennessee,  ema- 
nated from  the  counties  of  Guilford,  Randolph,  and 
Orange,  in  North  Carolina,  where  lived  and  labored 
Daniel  Marshall  and  Shubael  Stearns.  The  fact 
must  not  be  overlooked  that  it  was  the  Separate 
Baptists  who  bore  the  brunt  of  the  long  and  terri- 
ble struggle  waged  for  religious  freedom  on  the  part 
of  the  Baptists  of  the  South. 

Georgia. — While  Baptist  principles  were  mak- 
ing initial  headway  in  Maryland,  Virginia,  and  the 
Carolinas,  seed  was  being  sown  by  diligent  hands  in 
the  province  of  Georgia. 

In  January,  1733,  an  English  ship,  with  thirty- 
four  families  containing  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
six  persons,  touched  at  Charleston,  South  Carolina. 
The  passengers  on  board  this  good  ship  "Anne," 
were  under  the  direction  of  James  Oglethorpe, 
whose  destination  was  the  yet  unoccupied  territory 


EARLY   TRACES  27 

of  Georgia,  which  was  still  unnamed  except  in  the 
sealed  charter  in  the  possession  of  Oglethorpe. 
From  Charleston  the  vessel  conveyed  the  party  of 
colonists  to  the  present  site  of  Savannah,  where 
they  established  their  first  homes  in  these  primitive 
wilds.  Among  the  original  inhabitants  of  Georgia 
were  a  few  Baptists,  who  upon  arrival  were  dispersed 
here  and  there  without  the  formation  of  a  church. 
Among  the  Baptists  who  first  reached  this  new 
province  were  William  Calvert,  AVilliam  Slack, 
Thomas  Walker,  Nathaniel  Polhill,  John  Dunham, 
and  Sarah  Clancy,  of  whom  the  last  two  named  ac- 
companied Oglethorpe.  This  number  was  grad- 
ually increased  by  accessions  from  England  and 
from  the  northern  colonies  of  America. 

The  original  settlement  of  Georgia  was  based 
upon  the  idea  of  benevolence.  Oglethorpe  pro- 
posed to  found  in  these  Western  wilds  an  asylum 
for  the  poor  but  respectable  Englishmen,  in  wdiich 
plan  he  was  supported  by  an  association  of  his 
countrymen.  In  order  to  provide  for  the  penniless 
children  in  these  inhospitable  wilds,  it  was  pro- 
posed privately  by  John  Wesley  and  James  Ogle- 
thorpe to  erect  an  orphans'  home  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Savannah.  For  some  reason  the  project 
was  never  undertaken  by  these  worthy  gentlemen, 
but  in  1740  Whitefield  established  such  an  asylum 
at  Savannah.  It  was  this  enterprise  which  evoked 
from  Rev.  Mr.  Lewis,  of  Margate,  England,  the 
sneering  remark,  "  There  are   descendants  of  the 


28      HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

Moravian  Anabaptists  in  the  new  plantation  of 
Georgia."  No  formal  declaration  of  Baptist  prin- 
ciples was  heard  from  the  colony,  however,  until 
some  years  later.  In  1751,  a  young  Englishman, 
who  was  just  twenty-one  years  of  age,  was  made  the 
superintendent  of  the  Whitefield  Orphan  Home. 
In  the  person  of  Superintendent  Bedgewood  were 
combined  the  elements  of  a  good  classical  education 
and  the  gifts  of  an  effective  speaker.  Shortly  after 
his  assumption  of  the  superintendency  of  the 
Orphan  Home,  Nicholas  Bedgewood  was  led  to 
embrace  Baptist  sentiments,  but  it  was  not  until 
1757  that  he  made  a  public  profession  of  faith. 
Doubtless  this  was  due  to  the  fact  that  there  was  no 
Baptist  church  at  this  period  in  the  province  of 
Georgia.  But  during  the  year  named,  1757,  we 
find  him  going  to  Charleston  and  requesting  bap- 
tism at  the  hands  of  Oliver  Hart,  who  at  that  time 
was  pastor  of  the  First  Baptist  Church  of  that  city. 
His  ordination  to  the  ministry  following  two  years 
later,  we  find  Mr.  Bedgewood  preaching,  as  he  had 
opportunity,  in  the  region  of  the  Orphan  Home. 
In  1763  he  began  to  gather  in  the  fruits  of  his 
labors,  for  during  that  year  he  baptized  a  number 
of  candidates,  among  whom  was  Benjamin  Stirk, 
who  afterward  became  a  useful  minister.  It  is  most 
likely  that  Mr.  Bedgewood  was  authorized  by  the 
First  Church  of  Charleston,  of  which  he  was  a 
member,  to  administer  the  ordinances  to  such  as 
professed  faith  in  Christ  under  his  preaching.     It 


EAELY    TRACES  29 

was  a  custom  of  the  early  Baptist  churches  of  the 
South  to  make  incursions  into  unevangelized  regions, 
as  the  colonists  would  continue  to  increase,  and  es- 
tablish what  was  known  as  "  branch  churches." 
These  mission  posts  were  nursed  by  the  parent  or- 
ganization until  they  became  sufficiently  strong  for 
independent  existence. 

After  his  baptism  Mr.  Stirk  began  to  preach 
and  proved  a  most  zealous  and  successful  mission- 
ary. Removing  to  Tuckaseeking,  twenty  miles  into 
the  interior,  he  preached  to  such  as  he  could  gather 
from  time  to  time  into  his  own  house.  Having  be- 
come a  member  of  the  Euhaw  Church,  on  the  Caro- 
lina side  of  the  Savannah  River,  he  was  not  long  in 
establishing  a  mission  station  at  Tuckaseeking, 
which  became  a  "  branch  "  of  that  church.  Mr. 
Stirk  spent  the  remainder  of  his  life  in  this  region, 
preaching  w4th  unabated  zeal  until  his  death  in 
1770. 

The  little  band  of  Baptists  at  Tuckaseeking  hav- 
ing learned,  the  following  year,  that  Mr.  Botsford, 
a  licentiate  from  the  First  Church,  Charleston,  was 
visiting  the  Euhaw  Church,  sent  an  invitation  to  him 
to  visit  them.  Accompanied  by  Rev.  Francis  Pelot, 
who  was  at  that  time  pastor  of  the  Euhaw  Church, 
Mr.  Botsford  visited  the  little  flock  and  preached  to 
them  on  June  27,  1771.  He  was  a  missionar\^ 
who  was  laboring  under  the  auspices  of  the  First 
Church,  Charleston,  but  it  seems  that  up  to  this 
time  his  evang-elistic  effijrts  had  been  confined  to  the 


30     HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

eastern  side  of  the  Savannah.  Being  pressed  by 
the  isolated  band  at  Tuckaseeking  to  abide  with 
them,  he  consented  to  serve  them  for  the  period  of 
a  year  by  being  permitted  to  give  a  portion  of  his 
time  to  preaching  to  the  settlements  on  both  sides 
of  the  river. 

While  the  cause  was  being  thus  nourished  in  the 
southern  portion  of  the  province,  an  interest  was 
being  developed  on  the  eastern  border  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Augusta.  Rev.  Daniel  Marshall,  who 
had  been  baptized  thirty-five  years  before  at  Win- 
chester, Virginia,  and  who  had  spent  most  of  the 
intervening  period  in  North  Carolina,  was  prompted 
by  apostolic  zeal  to  follow  the  tide  of  civilization 
westward,  and  had  settled  on  Kiokee  Creek,  about 
twenty  miles  northwest  of  Augusta.  Previous  to 
his  settlement  in  Georgia,  he  had  lingered  for  a 
while  at  Horse  Creek,  South  Carolina,  whence  he 
had  made  several  visits  to  the  settlements  on  the 
west  side  of  the  Savannah,  preaching  as  he  could, 
sometimes  in  outhouses,  and  at  others  under  the 
great  trees  of  the  forest.  On  one  occasion,  while 
conducting  religious  service  in  a  grove  and  while 
upon  his  knees  offering  the  opening  prayer,  he  was 
suddenly  interrupted  by  a  heavy  hand  being  laid 
upon  his  shoulder  with  the  exclamation,  "  You  are 
my  prisoner!"  Rising  from  the  posture  of  devo- 
tion, the  venerable  man  of  God,  with  benignant  face 
and  snow-white  hair,  stood  front  to  front  with  a 
stern  officer  of  the  law.     The  devout  preacher  was 


EARLY    TRACES  31 

informed  that  he  was  a  transgressor  of  the  law  in 
that  he  had  "  preached  in  the  parish  of  St.  Paul ! " 
In  brief,  Mr.  Marshall  had  violated  the  enactment 
of  1758  which  provided  that  worship  in  the  colony- 
should  be  "  according;  to  the  rites  and  ceremonies  of 
the  Church  of  England."  Thereupon  he  was  forced 
to  give  security  for  his  appearance  in  Augusta  on 
the  following  Monday  to  answer  for  a  violation  of 
the  law.  Having  undergone  his  trial  with  meekness 
and  patience  he  was  ordered  to  leave  the  province  of 
Georgia  and  to  visit  it  no  more  in  the  capacity  of 
a  preacher.  With  fervor  and  stern  courage  he 
boldly  replied,  "  Whether  it  be  right  to  obey  God 
or  man,  judge  ye  "  ;  and  fearlessly  disregarding  the 
existing  statute,  the  prisoner-preacher  continued 
persistently  to  proclaim  the  gospel.^  The  sequel  of 
the  scene  of  the  arrest  was  that  of  honest  indigna- 
tion on  the  part  of  all  present,  to  which  sentiment 
Mrs.  Marshall  gave  earnest  expression  with  solemn 
denunciation  of  the  law,  quoting  with  fluency  pas- 
sage after  passage  of  Scripture.  The  stern  consta- 
ble, Samuel  Cartlege,  was  so  impressed  by  the  in- 
spired words  to  which  she  gave  utterance,  that  he 
was  pricked  to  the  heart,  and  was  ultimately  led  to 
Christ.  Five  years  later  Mr.  Marshall  baptized 
this  same  constable,  and  afterward  he  so  commended 
himself  that  he  became  a  deacon  of  the  church  at 
Kiokee.     Later  still,  Mr.  Cartlege  was  ordained  a 

1  Sketch  by  Rev.  Abraham    Marshall,   "Analytical    Reposi- 
tory," 1802. 


32     HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

preacher,  and  for  half  a  century  zealously  proclaimed 
the  gospel. 

The  Kiokee  Church  was  the  first  regularly  organ- 
ized Baptist  church  in  the  province  of  Georgia. 
Its  constitution  took  place  in  1772  under  the  fol- 
lowing Act  of  incorporation  : 

An  Act  for  incorporating  the  Anabaptist  church  on  the 

Kioka,  in  the  county  of  Richmond. 

Whereas,  A  religious  society  has,  for  many  years  past, 
been  established  on  the  Kioka,  in  the  count}'  of  Rich- 
mond, called  and  known  by  the  name  of  "The  Anabap- 
tist church  on  Kioka"  : 

Be  it  Enacted,  That  Abraham  Marshall,  William  Will- 
ingham,  Edmund  Cartlege,  John  Landers,  James 
Simmes,  Joseph  Ray,  and  Lewis  Gardener  be,  and  they 
are  hereby  declared  to  be,  a  body  corporated,  by  the 
name  and  style  of  "The  Trustees  of  the  Anabaptist 
church  on  Kioka." 

And  be  it  further  Enacted,  That  the  trustees  (here  the 
names  already  given  are  repeated)  of  the  said  Anabap- 
tist church  shall  hold  their  office  for  the  term  of  three 
years  ;  and  on  the  third  Saturday  of  November  in  every 
third  year,  after  the  passing  of  this  Act,  the  supporters 
of  the  gospel  in  said  church  shall  convene  at  the  meet- 
ing-house of  said  church,  and  there  between  the  hours 
of  ten  and  four  elect  from  among  the  supporters  of  the 
gospel  in  said  church  seven  discreet  persons  as  Trustees, 
etc. 

Seaborn  Jones,  Speaker. 

Nathan  Brownson,  President  Senate. 

Edmund  Telfair,  Governor. 
December  23, 1789.1 

^Watkin's  "Digest,"  p.  409,  and  "Digest"  of  Marbury  and 
Crawford,  p.  143. 


EARLY    TRACES  33 

Mr.  Marshall  became  the  first  pastor  of  the 
church  and  continued  his  labors  in  connection  with 
it  until  his  death.  Contemporaneous  with  Mr. 
Marshall  as  true  yoke-fellows  were  Sanders  Walker, 
Solomon  Thompson,  and  Alexander  Scott. 

At  first  the  early  Baptists  of  Georgia  were  some- 
what annoyed  by  the  diiFerences  which  existed  be- 
tween the  General  and  Regular  Baptists,  but  these 
differences  were  eventually  settled  by  casting  out 
the  Arminian  features  of  the  General  Baptists. 

Kentucky. — When  we  consider  the  earliest 
traces  of  the  Baptists  of  Kentucky,  we  discover 
that  they  were  the  first  actual  settlers  of  that  terri- 
tory. These  pioneer  Baptists  came  over  from 
North  Carolina.  A  brother  of  the  archetype  of  the 
hunter  and  wilderness  wanderer,  Daniel  Boone,  was 
a  Baptist  preacher. 

When  the  daring  Boones  ventured  across  the 
AUeghanies  which  walled  off  the  West  and  boldly 
invaded  the  beautiful  and  fertile  regions  beyond, 
they  found  that  "  it  was  a  fair  and  smiling  land  of 
groves  and  glades  and  running  waters,  where  the 
open  forests  grew  tall  and  beautiful,  and  where  in- 
numerable herds  of  game  grazed,  wandering  care- 
lessly to  and  fro  along  the  trails  they  had  trodden 
during  countless  generations."  So  far  as  the  mem- 
bers of  the  household  of  the  Boones  were  Chris- 
tians, they  were  Baptists,  though  the  great  Indian 
fighter  was  never  a  member  of  any  church. 

c 


34      HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

The  first  Baptist  preacher  who  entered  Kentucky 
before  the  settlements  began,  excepting  'Squire 
Boone,  was  Thomas  Tinsley.  He  was  doubtless  the 
first  to  preach  the  gospel  in  the  region  of  "  the  dark 
and  bloody  ground,"  and,  so  far  as  can  be  ascer- 
tained, was  the  first  to  preach  in  all  the  region  of 
the  West.^  It  is  not  known  from  what  quarter 
Tinsley  came,  though  it  is  supposed  that  he  re- 
moved from  Virginia.  William  Hickman  and 
George  Stokes  Smith  who  became  conspicuous  in 
the  early  annals  of  Kentucky  Baptists,  removed 
from  Virginia  and  settled  in  the  new  territory  in 
1776.  Mr.  Hickman  was  not  a  preacher  until 
some  time  after  his  arrival.  He  was  induced  by 
Thomas  Tinsley  to  enter  the  sacred  work,  and 
proved  to  be  one  of  the  most  active  and  efficient 
ministers  of  the  early  Baptist  preachers  of  Ken- 
tucky. Among  the  colonists  who  continued  to  cross 
the  mountains  to  make  their  homes  in  Kentucky 
was  a  goodly  sprinkling  of  Baptists.  Like  their 
fellow-pioneers  they  Avere  partly  actuated  by  a  dar- 
ing spirit  and  partly  lured  by  the  fertility  and 
grandeur  of  this  newly  discovered  region. 

Unlike  most  of  the  regions  first  settled  by  the 
whites  in  the  South,  Kentucky  was  not  occupied  by 
the  Indians  except  as  a  common  hunting-ground 
for  the  tribes  which  inhabited  the  domains  north 
and  south  of  it.  At  certain  seasons  roving  war  par- 
ties or  hunting  bands  from  beyond  the  Ohio  and  the 

1  Spenser,  "  History  of  Kentucky  Baptists,"  Vol.  I.,  p.  13. 


EARLY    TRACES  35 

Tennessee  would  visit  this  attractive  section.  Nat- 
urally enough  these  wild  tribes  met  with  deter- 
mined and  bloody  opposition  the  intrusion  of  the 
white  settlers  upon  their  favorite  hunting-grounds. 
For  the  space  of  twenty  years  a  perpetual  conflict 
was  waged  between  the  two  races.  Depredations 
of  every  possible  character  prevailed.  Crops  w^ere 
destroyed,  stock  was  killed  or  driven  off,  homes 
were  pillaged  and  burned,  and  the  inhabitants 
cruelly  butchered.  Lurking  savages  would  spring 
from  the  most  unsuspected  quarters  to  wreak  their 
vengeance  upon  the  whites.  This  perhaps  is  suffi- 
cient explanation  of  the  fact  that  though  Kentucky 
was  settled  as  early  as  1774,  it  was  not  until  1781 
that  a  church  was  constituted.  The  disturbed  con- 
dition of  the  region  was  such  that  it  was  impossible 
for  the  settlers  to  assemble  without  serious  inter- 
ference from  the  savages. 

On  June  18,  1781,  eighteen  Baptists  met  in  the 
wilderness  under  a  greeii  sugar-tree  and  constituted 
the  first  church  in  Kentucky,  and  indeed  in  the  en- 
tire West.  This  church,  which  w^as  named  Severn's 
Valley  Church,  was  constituted  by  Rev.  Joseph 
Barnett,  of  Virginia.  Rev.  John  Gerrard  was  at 
once  chosen  pastor.  A  few  weeks  later,  on  July  4, 
1781,  came  the  organization  of  Cedar  Creek  Church, 
and  a  little  later  still  this  was  follow^ed  by  the  con- 
stitution of  Gilbert's  Creek  Church.  The  spirit  of 
church  organization  spread  rapidly.  It  was  not 
long  before  every  populous  community  was  favored 


36      HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

with  the  presence  of  a  Baptist  churcli.  This  served 
to  accelerate  immigration  from  the  okler  sections  of 
the  South  into  this  favored  region. 

At  first  the  places  of  worship  of  these  pioneer 
saints  were  primitive  enough.  During  the  milder 
seasons,  they  were  God's  own  temples,  the  groves, 
while  during  the  cold  or  rainy  periods  of  the  year 
the  rude  dwellings  of  the  pioneers  were  the  meeting- 
places  of  these  plain  but  pious  worshipers.  Imagine 
a  structure  built  of  round  logs  of  uneven  size  and 
length,  and  sheltered  partly  with  the  skins  of  wild 
animals,  and  partly  with  broad  strips  of  bark,  and 
one  has  a  conception  of  the  home  common  to  the 
first  settlers  of  Kentucky.  No  tools,  no  implements 
of  industry  could  be  had,  save  an  occasional  long- 
handled,  light-headed  frontier  axe.  It  being  impos- 
sible to  obtain  lumber,  wooden  floors  were  out  of  the 
question,  hence  these  clumsy  houses  were  built  flat 
upon  the  ground,  and  mother  earth  was  the  floor. 
The  furniture  within  partook  of  the  roughness  which 
prevailed  without.  In  these  rude  cabins  the  hardy 
settlers  of  Kentucky  lived,  and  for  many  years  wor- 
shiped. Surrounded  by  brute  and  human  foes,  they 
owed  their  lives  to  sleepless  vigilance  and  resolute 
hearts.  Within  these  cabin  homes  the  primitive 
worshipers  would  gather,  while  one  or  more  would 
keep  sentinel  at  the  door  dividing  attention  between 
the  message  of  the  preacher  and  the  surrounding 
forest. 

The  garb  of  the  primitive  worshipers  was  equally 


EAELY    TRACES  37 

as  rude  as  their  dwellings.  In  a  region  where 
the  arts  were  scant,  recourse  w^as  had  to  any  means, 
however  ludicrous,  for  covering  the  body.  The 
men  made  up  their  wardrobes  partly  from  In- 
dian costume,  from  whatever  material  came  within 
reach.  Leather  leggings,  moccasins,  coats  and  vests 
of  skins  of  animals  with  the  fur  turned  inward, 
caps  of  soft  fur  taken  from  the  buifalo  and  rolled 
about  flexible  strips  of  wood  and  tied  with  leather 
thongs  to  hold  the  parts  together — these  constituted 
the  ordinary  garb  of  the  first  Kentucky  settlers. 
The  garb  of  the  women  was  even  more  rude  and 
grotesque,  if  possible,  than  that  of  the  men.  Their 
quaintly  cut  garments  were  entirely  of  dressed  buf- 
falo hides  and  deer  skins. 

Besides  those  whose  names  have  already  been 
mentioned,  there  were  conspicuous  in  these  early 
annals  of  Baptist  history  in  Kentucky,  William 
Marshall,  who  was  among  the  first  Baptist  preachers 
to  become  a  permanent  resident  of  the  territory, 
Benjamin  Lynn,  John  AVhitaker,  and  James  Skaggs. 
At  the  close  of  the  year  1780  there  were  only  six 
Baptist  preachers  in  Kentucky.  Indeed,  they  were 
the  only  preachers  in  the  territory,  for  the  Baptists, 
for  a  period  of  years,  were  without  a  rival  in  this 
newly  inhabited  district.  The  spirit  of  the  early 
Kentucky  churches  was  seriously  impaired  by  the 
infection  of  Arminianism,  which  was  introduced  by 
the  General  Baptists.  The  laxness  engendered  by 
such  a  spirit  was  greatly  enhanced  by  the  gross  im- 


38      HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHEEX  STATES 

moralities  which  seemed  to  prevail  throughout  the 
circuit  of  settlements  of  the  new  region.  While 
there  were  more  than  twenty  thousand  inhabitants 
in  the  territory,  no  one  had  as  yet  been  received 
into  a  Baptist  church  upon  profession  of  faith.  It 
was  not  because  the  early  ministry  was  "wanting  in 
diligence,  for  they  traversed  the  region  in  all  direc- 
tions, preaching  as  they  went.  It  was  a  period  of 
gross  disorder  which  was  to  be  followed  by  a  reac- 
tion in  1785,  such  as  has  rarely  been  witnessed  in 
the  history  of  Christianity. 

Tennessee. — Doubtless  the  Baptists  Avho  moved 
first  into  Tennessee  were  refugees  from  North  Caro- 
lina and  came  as  fugitives  from  the  battle  of  Al- 
amance— the  precursor  of  the  revolutionary  struggle. 
At  any  rate  we  find  that  Baptists  were  in  East  Ten- 
nessee prior  to  1770.  These  pioneer  Baptists  are 
said  to  have  founded  two  churches,  but  they  were 
driven  out  by  the  Indians  about  1774.  It  was 
equally  true  of  Tennessee  as  of  Kentucky,  that  Bap- 
tists were  the  first  Christians  within  the  territory, 
and  were  the  first  to  proclaim  the  gospel  in  that 
wild  region.  No  definite  information  earlier  than 
1781  can  be  obtained  from  existing  records  concern- 
ing the  early  occupation  of  Tennessee  by  the  Bap- 
tists. At  that  time  there  were  as  many  as  six 
churches  in  the  territory,  the  associational  connec- 
tion of  which  was  across  the  border  in  North  Caro- 
lina.    Indeed  five  of  that  number  were  members  of 


EARLY    TRACES  39 

the  Sandy  Creek  Association  in  the  province  of 
North  Carolina.  In  1786  we  find  these  early 
churches  acting  in  connection  with  a  few  others  in 
the  constitution  of  the  Holston  Association.  We 
gather  from  Asplund's  Register  for  1790,  that  at 
that  time  the  churches  of  the  Holston  Association 
had  a  membership  of  eight  hundred  and  eighty- 
nine.  Ten  years  later,  the  same  Association  em- 
braced thirty-seven  churches,  the  total  membership 
of  which  was  two  thousand  five  hundred.  The  in- 
crease of  Baptist  strength  was  commensurate  with 
the  growth  of  the  population  in  the  territory. 

Writing  of  these  early  times  in  Tennessee,  and 
commenting  upon  the  pioneer  Baptist  preachers  of 
that  period,  James  R.  Gilmore  (Edmund  Kirke)  in 
his  "  John  Sevier  as  a  Commonwealth  Builder," 
says  :  "  Their  theory  of  morals  was  condensed  into 
one  phrase,  '  Thus  saith  the  Lord.'  What  he  com- 
mands is  right ;  what  he  forbids  is  wrong  ;  and  the 
Bible  is  his  infallible  word.  A  faith,  how  simple, 
and  yet  how  sublime  !  " 

Impelled  by  a  common  motive,  it  was  not  unusual 
for  an  entire  church  membership  to  emigrate  bodily 
from  Virginia,  or  the  Carolinas,  into  the  new  and 
inviting  region  of  Tennessee.  After  locating  in  a 
given  portion  of  the  country  and  after  providing 
rude  shelters  for  their  families,  the  next  care  of  the 
colonists  was  to  erect  a  place  of  worship  at  some 
convenient  point.  Here,  as  elsewhere,  in  the  pio- 
neer regions  of  the  South,  the  cramped  quarters  of 


40      HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

winter  worship  were  abandoned  for  the  freedom  of 
the  groves  when  the  warmth  of  springtime  came. 

During  the  week  the  preachers  would  till  the 
soil,  and  on  Sunday  occupy  the  pulpits.  Among 
the  first  preachers  who  came  into  the  Territory  of 
Tennessee  were  Tidance  Lane,  who  had  been  bap- 
tized in  North  Carolina  by  Shubael  Stearns,  James 
Keel,  Thomas  Murrell,  Messrs.  Mott  and  Talbott, 
Isaac  Barton,  William  Murphey,  John  Chastine, 
and  William  Reno,  all  of  whom  came  either  from 
Virginia  or  North  Carolina. 

While  the  Baptist  standard  was  being  planted  in 
East  Tennessee,  consecrated  missionaries,  such  as 
Ambrose  Dudley  and  John  Taylor,  from  Kentucky, 
were  operating  in  the  middle  and  western  portions 
of  the  new  territory.  It  was  chiefly  through  the 
agency  of  these  missionaries  that  the  first  churches, 
the  Red  River  and  Sulphur  Fork,  were  constituted 
in  Tennessee. 

Mississippi. — In  1780  seven  Baptist  families 
emigrated  from  South  Carolina  to  the  Mississippi 
Territory  and  settled  at  the  mouth  of  Cole's  Creek, 
about  twenty  miles  above  Natchez.  These  daring 
emigrants  hailed  from  the  region  of  the  Great  Pedce 
River,  South  Carolina,  where  since  the  beginning  of 
the  Revolution  they  had  been  special  objects  of 
vengeance  to  the  Tory  raiders,  in  consequence  of 
their  loyalty  to  the  cause  of  freedom.  Not  only 
were  the  homes  of  these  devoted  sons  of  liberty 


EARLY    TRACES  41 

frequently  plundered,  but  they  themselves  were 
hunted  by  the  Tories  from  their  hiding-places  in  the 
swamps  of  the  Great  Pedee.  Attracted  partly  by 
the  reports  of  the  fabulous  fertility  of  the  soils  in 
the  Natchez  region,  and  partly  by  the  fact  that  they 
would  enjoy  exemption  from  the  perpetual  harass- 
ments  of  such  a  wily  foe  as  the  Tories  of  South 
Carolina,  they  turned  their  faces  westward.  At  the 
head  of  this  intrepid  band  of  pilgrims  was  Richard 
Curtis,  Sr.  Making  their  way  overland  to  the  Hol- 
ston  River,  they  constructed  boats  in  which  to  sail 
down  the  Tennessee,  Ohio,  and  Mississippi  rivers  to 
their  destination  just  above  Natchez.  After  en- 
countering hostile  tribes  of  red  men  on  the  route,  in 
consequence  of  which  several  of  the  party  were 
killed,  the  survivors  finally  reached  the  scene  of 
their  future  homes.  After  providing  temporary 
dwellings,  the  next  care  of  the  colonists  was  to  ar 
range  for  seasons  of  stated  worship.  Fortunately 
Richard  Curtis,  Jr.,  had  been  licensed  to  preach 
before  leaving  South  Carolina,  and  naturally  enough 
he  was  called  upon  to  officiate  in  the  services. 
From  these  informal  meetings  came  Salem  Church. 
At  this  period  the  Natchez  district  was  nominally 
under  the  dominion  of  the  English,  having  been 
purchased  in  1777  by  the  British  Superintendent  of 
Indian  Affairs  from  the  Choctaws  ;  but  religiously 
it  was  under  the  control  of  the  Spanish  Catholics, 
whose  settlements  were  scattered  here  and  there  over 
the  broad  area.     Many  of  these  were  led  to  attend 


42      HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

upon  the  worship  of  the  Baptists  because  of  its 
freedom  from  formality,  and  because  of  the  hearti- 
ness in  which  it  was  engaged.  Encouraged  by  such 
favorable  demonstrations,  Mr.  Curtis  by  degrees 
extended  his  preaching  tours  farther  into  the  in- 
terior. His  labors  were  greatly  blessed,  and  after 
some  months  a  number  of  conversions  occurred. 
Being  without  an  ordained  minister,  the  perplexing 
question  arose  as  to  who  should  baptize  the  new  con- 
verts, inasmuch  as  no  ordained  minister  was  avail- 
able. Keferring  the  matter  to  the  parent  church  in 
South  Carolina,  from  which  these  members  had 
come,  they  received  the  following  answer  :  "  There 
is  no  law  against  necessity,  and  under  the  present 
stress  of  circumstances  the  members  ought  to  as- 
semble and  formally  appoint  one  of  their  members, 
by  election,  to  ba})tize  the  young  converts."  Very 
properly,  Richard  Curtis,  Jr.,  who  had  been  serving 
the  colony  with  such  efficiency  as  a  missionary,  was 
appointed  to  administer  baptism  to  the  candidates. 

From  this  event  sprang  a  sensation  which  came 
well-nigh  proving  serious  to  the  incipient  colony. 
Among  the  candidates  baptized  by  Mr.  Curtis  was  a 
Spanish  Catholic  named  Stephen  d'Alvoy.  This 
gave  oifense  to  the  Catholic  community,  and  doubt- 
less punitive  measures  would  have  been  taken  ;  but 
as  the  region  was  under  the  domination  of  Great 
Britain,  of  course  the  Romanists  were  utterly  with- 
out authority  to  inflict  ])unishment.  Had  the  matter 
been  allowed  to  rest,  no  trouble  would  have  come 


EARLY    TRACES  43 

of  it.  But  a  little  later  the  colony  was  reinforced 
by  a  small  baud  of  Georgians,  among  whom  was  a 
Baptist  preacher  named  Harigail  who,  with  more 
zeal  than  discretion,  began  a  w^iolesale  denunciation 
of  the  corruptions  of  Romanism.  Meanwhile  the 
territory  had  passed  temporarily  into  the  hands  of 
the  Spanish.  The  conduct  of  Harigail,  coming  in 
close  connection  with  the  active  labors  of  d'Alvoy, 
and  directly  following  the  provocation  awakened  by 
the  baptism  of  the  latter,  the  Spanish  authorities  re- 
solved upon  making  an  example  of  Curtis  and 
d'Alvoy,  whom  they  regarded  as  chief  offenders.  A 
plan  was  accordingly  concerted  for  sending  them  to 
labor  as  convicts  in  the  mines  of  Mexico ;  but  hav- 
ing learned  of  the  atrocious  scheme,  these  unoffend- 
ing men  concealed  themselves  until  preparations 
could  be  made  for  their  flight.  The  region  was 
thrown  into  consternation  by  such  high-handed  pro- 
ceedings on  the  part  of  the  Spanish  officials.  But 
still  intent  upon  vengeance,  the  Spanish  made  an 
effort  to  seize  the  offending  Harigail,  and  would 
have  succeeded  but  for  the  friendly  disclosure  of  the 
plot  by  a  gambler,  who  was  in  turn  seized  and  con- 
fined in  prison  for  several  months.  Barton  Hannah, 
another  Baptist  preacher,  was  also  imprisoned,  but 
his  courageous  wife  demanded  his  release  with  the 
threat  of  a  general  uprising  of  the  people  if  she  was 
denied,  so  that  the  governor  deemed  it  prudent  to 
release  him.  Meanwhile  arrangements  were  made 
for  the  flight  on  horseback  of  Curtis  and  d'Alvoy 


44      HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

across  the  country  to  South  Carolina.  So  terrorized 
was  the  population  by  the  demonstrations  of  revenge 
on  the  part  of  the  Spanish  authorities,  that  for  a 
time  no  one  was  found  who  was  daring  enough  to 
encounter  the  peril  of  conveying  to  the  concealed 
fugitives  the  horses  and  equipments  for  their  jour- 
ney. A  brave  woman,  Mrs.  Chloe  Holt,  finally 
assumed  the  perilous  undertaking  and  put  them 
in  possession  of  the  provisions,  money,  and  horses, 
thus  enabling  them  to  make  good  their  escape. 

Louisiana. — In  no  portion  of  the  territory  east 
of  the  Mississippi  were  there  greater  barriers  to  the 
introduction  of  evangelical  religion  than  in  Louisi- 
ana. According  to  the  notorious  ''  Black  Code " 
adopted  in  1724,  while  Bienville  was  the  French 
governor  of  the  province,  no  form  of  worship  other 
than  that  of  the  Roman  Catholic  was  tolerated.^ 

Baptists  entered  Louisiana  from  Mississippi  as 
early  as  1798.  The  first  preacher  that  ventured 
across  the  border-line  of  the  territory  was  Rev.  B. 
E.  Chancy,  who  removed  from  the  Cole's  Creek 
community,  in  Mississippi,  to  St.  Feliciana  Parish. 
Beginning  missionary  labor  in  that  region,  he  was 
promptly  arrested  by  the  Roman  Catholic  author- 
ities, but  obtained  his  freedom  upon  promise  to  de- 
sist from  further  efforts  to  preach  within  the  prov- 
ince.    He  died  soon  after  this  occurrence.^ 

1  Gayarre's  "  History  of  Louisiana,"  Vol.  I.     (Appendix.) 
-  F.  Paxton's  "  History  of  Louisiana  Baptists,"  p.  36. 


EARLY   TRACES  45 

The  next  interest  seems  to  have  been  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  Baptist  church  within  nine  miles  of 
Baton  Rouge  where  a  colony  of  South  Carolinia 
Baptists  had  settled.  Rev.  Ezra  Courtney,  himself 
a  South  Carolinian,  who  had  removed  to  the  southern 
border  of  Mississippi  in  1802,  where  he  founded  a 
church,  at  a  later  date  served  also  the  group  in  the 
Baton  Rouge  community.  Here  again  was  encoun- 
tered Roman  Catholic  interference.  Mr.  Courtney 
was  duly  admonished  to  cease  preaching  in  the  prov- 
ince, and  was  informed  that  persistency  on  his  part 
would  ultimately  lead  to  imprisonment.  But  pro- 
curing the  favor  of  the  alcalde  he  was  permitted  to 
prosecute  his  work,  the  result  of  which  was  the  es- 
tablishment of  a  church  within  a  short  distance  of 
Baton  Rouge. 

The  next  interest  in  the  eastern  portion  of  the 
State,  originated  iu  the  Pearl  River  region  where, 
in  1813,  Mount  Nebo  and  Peniel  churches  were 
constituted  as  the  result  of  the  labors  of  young  mis- 
sionaries from  the  adjoining  Mississippi  territory. 
These  were  admitted  into  membership  with  the  Mis- 
sissippi Association  in  1813,  and  the  following  year 
Hepzibah  Church,  in  Louisiana,  was  organized  and 
admitted  into  the  same  Association.  About  1816 
the  Mississippi  Society  for  Baptist  Missions,  domes- 
tic and  foreign,  was  organized,  which  society  sent 
Rev.  James  A.  Ranoldson  as  a  missionary  into  the 
growing  communities  of  Louisiana.  Mr.  Ranoldson 
extended  his  labors  as  far  south  as  New  Orleans, 


46      HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

where  a  church  was  organized  in  1818.  This 
church,  however,  soon  became  extinct  and  it  was 
twenty-two  years  before  another  effort  was  made  to 
establish  a  church  in  the  Crescent  City. 

In  1818  the  Louisiana  Association  was  formed 
with  a  total  membership  of  five  churches.  The 
growing  importance  of  New  Orleans  as  a  commer- 
cial center  attracted  the  attention  of  the  Home  Mis- 
sion Board  of  the  American  Baptist  Triennial  Con- 
vention as  early  as  1814.  Rev.  James  Ranoldson 
was  its  first  missionary  to  this  mart  of  the  South- 
west. He  continued  his  labors  for  a  number  of 
years  in  the  midst  of  a  population  three-fourths  of 
which  was  Roman  Catholic.  But  all  efforts  at 
organization  failed  for  a  long  period  of  years. 

In  1842  Rev.  Russell  Holman,  of  Kentucky, 
was  sent  as  a  missionary  to  New  Orleans  by  the 
Missionary  Board  of  the  Triennial  Convention. 
During  the  year  following  a  church,  the  First,  com- 
prising ten  members,  was  constituted.  In  1854 
another  church,  the  Coliseum  Place,  was  constituted, 
with  Rev.  ^y.  C.  Duncan  as  pastor. 

Alabama. — There  were  settlements  of  whites  in 
Southern  Alabama  as  early  as  1803,  but  we  find  the 
presence  of  Baptists  in  the  territory  not  earlier  than 
1808.  The  first  representatives  of  the  denomination 
came  from  Tennessee  on  the  North,  and  across  the 
eastern  border  from  Georgia.  It  seems  that  the 
colony  from  Tennessee  preceded  the  advent  of  those 


EARLY    TRACES  47 

whose  presence  is  discovered  upon  the  Tombigbee 
River,  in  the  Southern  portion  of  the  territorv. 
Revs.  John  Nicholson,  John  Canterbury,  and  Zad- 
dock  Parker  were  the  pioneer  preachers  who  first 
proclaimed  the  gospel  upon  the  northern  frontier  of 
Alabama.  Through  the  agency  of  Mr.  Nicholson, 
a  church  was  organized  on  Flint  River,  near  the 
present  site  of  Huntsville,  on  October  2,  1808, 
being  the  first  that  was  constituted  in  the  territory. 
Shortly  after  this  period,  William  Cochrane,  a  licen- 
tiate from  Georgia,  began  preaching  in  the  Tensas 
settlement  in  Southern  Alabama.  Later  he  was 
reinforced  by  such  efficient  laborers  as  James  Court- 
ney, Joseph  McGee,  Jacob  Parker,  and  Alexander 
Travis,  These  men  were  distinguished  by  apostolic 
ruggedness  and  fire — elements  which  were  indis- 
pensable in  a  region  without  roads,  abounding  in 
great  bridgeless  streams,  and  one  in  which  the  set- 
tlements were  widely  separated,  with  intervening 
tribes  of  hostile  Indians.  Courageous  indeed  was 
the  missionary  who  dared  to  thread  his  way  on  foot 
following  the  trail  of  the  Indian  the  distance  of 
forty  miles  sometimes,  in  order  to  meet  an  appoint- 
ment to  preach.  The  most  noted  of  the  group 
whose  names  have  been  given  was  Alexander  Travis, 
in  whom  were  combined  to  a  remarkable  degree  ro- 
bustness of  courage  and  simplicity  and  gentleness  of 
spirit.  To  him  perhaps  more  than  to  any  other  of 
the  pioneer  preachers  are  the  Baptists  of  Alabama 
indebted  for  the  fundamental  basis  upon  which  the 


48      HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHEKN  STATES 

earliest  churches  were  planted.  The  library  of  these 
plain  and  earnest  men  of  God  was  the  English 
Bible,  which  was  studied  at  night  by  the  glare  of 
pine-knot  fires  when  the  toils  of  the  day  were  over. 

Florida. — Early  evangelistic  work  in  Florida 
began  in  the  years  succeeding  the  close  of  the  Indian 
troubles  in  that  State.  It  is  impossible  to  deter- 
mine at  the  present  time  just  when  missionary  work 
began  in  Florida.  The  early  records  of  the  Asso- 
ciations of  Southern  Alabama  and  Southern  Georgia 
show  that,  so  soon  as  they  could  do  so,  missionaries 
from  these  bodies  were  sent  into  upper  and  central 
Florida  to  preach  the  gospel.  These  missionaries, 
operating  from  both  sides  of  the  Chattahoochee,  con- 
sidered Florida  an  inviting  field  for  evangelistic  en- 
deavor and  made  it  one  with  the  southern  sections  of 
their  respective  States.  Until  a  late  period  churches 
in  Florida  Avere  members  of  the  Associations,  the 
territory  of  which  embraced  the  southern  portions 
of  Georgia  and  Alabama. 

Work  in  Florida  did  not  assume  independent 
formation  until  about  1841.  The  Florida  Associa- 
tion, the  first  in  the  State,  was  organized  about  that 
time  by  the  churches  in  the  counties  of  Leon,  Jeffer- 
son, and  Madison,  together  with  some  churches  in 
Thomas  County,  Georgia.  This  Association  was 
followed  by  the  organization  of  Alachua  in  1845  or 
1846,  and  this  again  by  the  Santa  Fe  in  1854. 

Efforts  were  made  at  an  early  date  by  mission- 


EARLY    TRACES  49 

aries  from  Alabama  to  establish  a  church  in  Pensa- 
cola.  But  little  headway  was  made  in  that  Roman 
Catholic  stronghold,  for  all  the  coast  cities  of  the 
South  fell  under  the  dominion  of  the  Roman  Catho- 
lics at  an  early  day,  and  until  the  Civil  War  nothing 
more  than  a  feeble  and  struggling  interest  was  main- 
tained in  that  cosmopolitan  town. 

In  1854  the  Florida  Baptist  Convention  was 
organized  in  the  home  of  Rev.  R.  J.  Mays,  in  Madi- 
son County.  It  was  not,  however,  until  after  the 
close  of  the  Civil  War  that  the  work  assumed  any 
conspicuous  proportions  as  distinctive  State  work. 

West  Virginia. — Baptists  entered  the  territory 
of  what  is  now  West  Virginia,  as  early  as  1774,  at 
which  period  Simpson's  Creek  Church  was  formed. 
Seven  years  later.  Rev.  John  Anderson,  of  New 
Jersey,  organized  the  Greenbrier  Church,  and  in 
1807  he  was  instrumental  in  the  constitution  of  the 
Greenbrier  Association. 

District  of  Columbia. — The  first  Baptist  church 
in  the  District  of  Columbia  was  constituted  in  Wash- 
ington City  on  March  7,  1802,  with  only  six  mem- 
bers. They  were  dependent  for  preaching  upon 
Rev.  William  Parkinson,  then  chaplain  to  Congress. 
Five  years  after  its  organization  Rev.  O.  B.  Brown 
was  called  to  the  pastorate  of  the  church. 


CHAPTER  II 

STRUGGLE    FOR    FREEDOM 

IN  seeking  to  discover  tlie  first  traces  of  the  Bap- 
tists in  the  several  States  of  the  South,  we 
have  been  carried  much  beyond  the  period  which 
now  comes  under  review.  In  considering  the  con- 
flicts in  which  the  Baptist  fathers  were  engaged  in 
order  to  the  establishment  of  religious  liberty  in 
the  South,  we  shall  have  somewhat  to  retrace  our 
steps  to  reach  the  source  of  these  troubles. 

The  era  upon  which  we  are  now  entering  is 
at  once  the  most  eventful,  the  most  thrilling,  the 
most  prolific,  and  the  most  vital  in  the  history  of 
the  republic.  It  is  a  period  in  which  were  laid  the 
foundation  principles  upon  which  the  union  of  the 
States  was  to  be  established  and  maintained  through- 
out a  revolutionary  future.  While  the  liberty-lov- 
ing of  the  Old  World  had  fled  to  America  in  order 
to  escape  the  oppression  which  resulted  from  the 
union  of  Church  and  State,  the  advocates  of  this 
unholy  alliance  had  also  come  that  they  might 
transplant  the  same  iniquitous  principles  on  the 
shores  of  America. 

In  the  original  occupation  of  the  States  of  the 
South  the  lords  proprietaries,  under  the  direction  of 

50 


STRUGGLE    FOR    FREEDOM  51 

whom  these  several  colonies  were  planted,  were 
largely  members  of  the  Church  of  England.  Sup- 
ported by  the  government  of  Great  Britain,  these 
orio;inal  founders  of  American  colonies  were  defiant 
of  opposition  and  most  rigorous  in  the  execution  of 
their  demands  upon  all  dissenters.  To  those  of 
other  communions  than  that  of  the  establishment, 
the  outlook  for  religious  freedom  was  not,  for  a  very 
long  period,  by  any  means  assuring.  Roman  Cath- 
olics formed  the  only  exception  to  this  remark. 

Among  the  first  who  came  from  England  to 
America,  as  we  have  seen,  were  Baptists.  They 
were  generally  fugitives  from  the  ecclesiastical  tyr- 
anny of  the  old  world.  Believing  that  every  one 
should  be  left  at  liberty  to  worship  God  as  he  might 
please,  or  to  neglect  to  worship  altogether  if  he 
might  choose,  they  began  the  propagation  of  these 
principles.  In  harmony  with  these  views  they  con- 
tended for  entire  exemption  from  compulsory  sup- 
port of  a  system  or  creed  of  which  they  could  not 
approve.  This  opposition  they  did  not  hesitate  to 
express  when  occasion  arose,  though  such  opposi- 
tion was  frequently  attended  with  extreme  peril. 
When,  therefore,  taxation  on  the  part  of  the  estab- 
lishment was  resisted  by  dissenters,  which  included 
others  besides  Baptists,  the  persecutions  against 
such  were  oftentimes  violent.  The  specious  plea  of 
these  persecutors  was  that  while  magistrates  "  have 
no  power  against  the  laws,  doctrine,  and  religion  of 
Christ,  yet  for  the  same,  if  their  power  be  of  God, 


52      HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

they  may  use  it  lawfully  and  against  the  contrary."  ^ 
The  passage  of  the  Act  of  Toleration  under  William 
and  Mary,  in  1689,  aroused  great  hope  among  the 
Baptists  both  of  America  and  England.  But  for 
some  mysterious  reason  that  Act  failed  to  become 
operative  in  America  for  quite  twenty  years.  While, 
as  Doctor  Woolsey  says,  it  "  removed  only  the  harsh- 
est restrictions  upon  Protestant  religious  worship 
and  was  arbitrary,  unequal,  and  unsystematic  in  its 
provisions,"  still  "  it  was  the  entering  wedge  to  relig- 
ious freedom."  The  passage  of  such  an  Act  was  a 
concession  of  Parliament  to  the  dissenters  both  in 
England  and  America.  If  it  did  not  bring  the 
desired  freedom,  it  had  the  effect  of  giving  enlarged 
boldness  of  assertion  to  the  Baptists.  The  colonies 
of  the  South,  as  well  as  those  of  the  North,  were 
modeled  upon  imitations  of  the  mother  country. 
The  spirit  of  the  laws,  if  not  the  laws  themselves, 
were  derived  from  England.  In  Great  Britain  con- 
formity to  the  religion  of  the  government  was  en- 
forced by  disabilities,  pains,  and  penalties.  In  the 
charter  of  1 606  the  Church  of  England  was  estab- 
lished in  Virginia.  It  provided  that  "the  true  word 
and  service  of  God  and  Christian  faith  be  preached, 
planted,  and  used  according  to  the  doctrines,  rights, 
and  religion  now  professed  and  established  within 
our  realm." 

This  was  strongly  supported  by  subsequent  legis- 

^ Doctor  Cutting,  in  Underbill's  "Struggles  and  Triumphs  of 
Religious  Liberty,"  p.  10. 


STRUGGLE    FOR    FREEDOM  53 

lation,  which  denounced  all  such  provision  as  hereti- 
cal and  dangerous.  Under  the  exclusive  system  of 
Episcopacy  in  Virginia,  such  oppressive  laws  were 
enacted  as  entailed  the  most  cruel  persecution  upon 
all  dissenters.  One  of  these  laws  in  1611  required 
every  person  who  settled  in  the  colony  to  appear  be- 
fore an  Episcopal  minister  and  state  his  religious 
views.  Should  he  refuse  to  do  so,  he  should  be 
publicly  whipped.  If  still  he  refused,  he  was  to  be 
twice  whipped.  A  third  refusal  led  to  his  being 
whipped  every  day  until  he  should  confess.  It  was 
unlawful  for  dissenters  to  engage  in  religious  wor- 
ship except  in  the  meeting-houses  of  the  Episcopa- 
lians. Taxes  were  levied  on  the  goods  of  every 
man,  on  his  property,  and  on  his  crops,  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  Episcopal  ministry  or  for  the  purchase 
for  them  of  glebes  or  parish  farms.  Should  a  dis- 
senter absent  himself  from  the  "service"  of  a 
church  of  the  Establishment,  he  was  fined  fifty 
pounds  of  tobacco  for  one  Sunday,  and  two  hundred 
pounds  for  one  month.  The  penalty  for  refusing  to 
have  a  child  christened  was  two  thousand  pounds  of 
tobacco.  The  original  statute  books  of  Virginia 
abound  in  the  records  of  the  passage  of  laws  for 
building  houses  of  worship  in  the  parishes,  the  sup- 
port of  the  clergy  of  the  Establishment,  compulsory 
christening,  attendance  on  public  worship,  the  coer- 
cive use  of  the  book  of  Common  Prayer,  practi- 
cal conformity  to  the  order  and  constitution  of  the 
Church  of  England,  and  forbidding  preaching,  offi- 


54      HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHEEN  STATES 

ciation  at  marriages,  and  occasions  of  public  wor- 
ship of  dissenters/  Nor  was  there  existing  the  dis- 
position to  abate  the  vigor  of  these  unjust  statutes, 
for  when  not  checked  by  the  softening  influence  of 
Christianity,  or  awed  into  inaction  by  adverse  pub- 
lic sentiment,  these  oppressive  laws  were  cruelly 
executed.^  That  the  galling  nature  of  these  laws 
may  be  more  fully  understood,  quotation  is  here 
made  of  one  of  them : 

Whereas,  Many  schismatic  persons  out  of  their 
averseness  to  the  orthodox  estabhshed  rehgion,  or  out  of 
the  new-fangled  conceits  of  their  own  heretical  inven- 
tions, refuse  to  have  their  children  baptized.  Be  it  there- 
fore Enacted,  That  all  persons  that,  in  contempt  of  the 
divine  sacrament  of  baptism,  shall  refuse  when  they 
may  carry  their  child  to  a  lawful  minister  in  that  county 
to  have  them  baptized,  shall  be  amerced  two  thousand 
pounds  of  tobacco  ;  half  to  the  informer  and  half  to  the 
public/ 

This  was  originally  intended  for  Quakers,  but 
was  vigorously  executed  against  the  Baptists  of  the 
Virginia  colony.  This  conflict  against  dissent- 
ers was  indiscriminately  waged  in  every  possible 
direction.  Dissenters  who  were  members  of  the 
House  of  Burgesses  were  expelled  because  of  their 
religious  opinions.  Men  and  women  alike  were 
haled  before  the  courts  and  fined  for  failure  to  at- 

iHening's  "Statutes,"  Vol.  I.,  II.,  III.,  VI. 
^Semple's  "History  of  the  Baptists  of  Virginia,"  pp.  14-23, 
294. 
^Hening's  "Statutes,"  Vol.  II.,  p.  165. 


STRUGGLE    FOR    FREEDOM  65 

tend  upon  the  services  of  the  Episcopal  Church.  A 
striking  instance  of  this  cruel  enactment,  as  well  as 
of  the  heroism  of  the  oppressed,  occurs  in  the 
records  of  Middlesex  Court,  Virginia  :  ''  Sister 
Lucretia  Pritchett  was  true  pluck  :  she  was  pre- 
sented at  every  Court  and  fined  each  time." 

By  far  the  fiercest  struggle  for  freedom  was  made 
by  the  Baptists  of  Virginia.  For  the  period  of 
almost  three-quarters  of  a  century  the  conflict  con- 
tinued in  that  province  in  which  the  Baptists  re- 
fused to  desist  until  the  last  vestige  of  the  coalition 
between  Church  and  State  had  been  wiped  out.  The 
lofty  and  boastful  cavalier,  concerning  the  courtly 
polish  of  whose  manners,  and  the  gentler  blood  of 
whom  so  much  has  been  said  and  written,  was  the  ar- 
rogant fellow  who  meted  out  only  brutal  intolerance 
to  the  unoffending  folk  of  Virginia,  called  Baptists. 
Booted  and  spurred  and  of  lofty  port,  he  looked 
with  disdain  upon  the  plain  and  simple,  but  honest 
and  worthy  Baptists  of  Virginia.  The  treatment 
which  was  accorded  these  unoffending  people  for  the 
period  of  more  than  half  a  century  was  largely  due 
to  the  contempt  with  which  the  cavalier  importa- 
tions, who  were  also  members  of  the  Establishment, 
regarded  them.  They  were  the  objects  of  "  cruel 
mockings  and  scourgings,  yea,  moreover  of  bonds 
and  imprisonment,"  because  they  were  regarded  as 
the  refuse  of  the  earth.  Indeed,  these  same  Baptists 
so  profoundly  excited  the  contempt  of  the  austere 
members  of  the   Establishment  in   some   quarters 


56      HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

that  they  escaped  persecution  altogether.  With  a 
sneer  it  was  said  that  none  but  the  weak  and  wicked 
would  join  the  intolerable  Baptists.  It  was  pre- 
sumed that  their  position  in  the  scale  of  social 
excellence  was  such  that  they  would  soon  come  to 
naught  by  reason  of  unseemly  wrangles  among 
themselves. 

In  many  other  localities,  however,  the  penal  code 
was  strained  to  its  utmost  tension  to  suppress  the 
Baptists,  who  resisted  the  invasion  of  their  God- 
given  rights.  A  profound  contempt  coupled  with  a 
bitter  malice  led  to  the  perpetration  upon  the  Bap- 
tist ministry  of  the  most  cruel  treatment.  The 
same  individual  held  in  high  esteem  by  the  Estab- 
lishment so  long  as  he  was  loyal  thereto,  became 
suddenly  transformed  into  an  object  of  ridicule  and 
contempt  so  soon  as  he  embraced  the  principles  of 
the  despised  Baptists.  Samuel  Harriss,  before  his 
conversion  to  the  Baptist  faith,  was  a  most  trust- 
worthy citizen  of  the  Virginia  colony.  This  is 
shown  by  the  several  prominent  positions  which  he 
held  in  society.  No  other  than  a  most  reputable 
citizen  could  have  at  different  times  occupied  the 
several  positions  of  church-warden,  sheriff,  justice 
of  the  peace,  burgess  for  the  county,  colonel  of  the 
militia,  captain  of  Mayo  Fort,  and  commissary  for 
the  fort  and  army.  But  at  thirty-four  years  of  age 
he  was  led  to  Christ,  was  baptized,  and  ordained 
a  Baptist  preacher.  This  was  sufficient  to  arouse 
the  contempt  and  the  ire  of  the  Episcopal  clergy 


STRUGGLE    FOR    FREEDOM  57 

and  to  call  down  upon  Mr.  Harriss  their  fiery  male- 
dictions. 

On  one  occasion  he  was  arrested  and  taken  into 
court  as  a  disturber  of  the  peace.  He  was  con- 
fronted by  one  Captain  Williams,  who  "  vehemently 
accused  him  as  a  vagabond,  a  heretic,  and  a  mover 
of  sedition  everywhere."  Mr.  Harriss  made  his 
own  defense.  The  Court  proposed  to  dismiss  the 
case  upon  the  condition  that  Mr.  Harriss  would  not 
preach  in  Culpeper  again  for  the  space  of  a  year. 
The  persecuted  preacher  stated  that  as  his  home 
was  distant  two  hundred  miles  he  would  possibly 
not  disturb  them  for  that  period  of  time.  Crossing 
the  Blue  Ridge  he  preached  in  the  Shenandoah 
Valley,  but  Providence  soon  led  him  again  into 
Culpeper  where,  in  violation  of  his  extorted  prom- 
ise, he  again  preached,  saying :  "  I  partly  promised 
the  devil  a  few  days  past,  at  the  courthouse,  that  I 
would  not  preach  in  this  county  again  during  the 
term  of  a  year.  But  the  devil  is  a  perfidious 
wretch,  and  covenants  with  him  are  not  to  be  kept  : 
and  therefore  I  will  preach."  He  was  no  more  dis- 
turbed in  Culpeper  County,  but  on  one  occasion,  in 
Orange  County,  he  was  pulled  down  while  preach- 
ing and  ruthlessly  dragged  about,  sometimes  by  the 
hair  of  his  head  and  again  by  the  leg,  but  was 
finally  rescued  by  his  friends.  On  another  occasion 
he  was  knocked  down  while  preaching.^  It  was  not 
an  uncommon  occurrence  for  sacred  worship  to  be 
1  Taylor,  "Virginia  Baptist  Ministers,"  Vol.  I.,  p.  35. 


58      HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

seriously  interfered  with,  and  sometimes  broken  up 
by  representatives  of  the  Episcopacy. 

Stones  and  other  missiles  were  sometimes  hurled 
at  the  heads  of  the  Baptist  preachers  while  conduct- 
ing worship  in  the  woods,  or  in  private  dwellings. 
On  one  occasion  an  Episcopal  minister  led  the 
tumult  against  a  Baptist  meeting.^  Frequently  Bap- 
tist preachers  were  insulted  while  performing  the 
most  sacred  rites.  Their  persecutors  would  ride 
into  the  water  while  baptism  was  being  adminis- 
tered, and  make  sport  of  the  most  solemn  rite. 
When  on  one  occasion  Robert  Ware  was  engaged  in 
preaching  he  was  confronted  by  two  men  who  stood 
before  him  with  a  bottle  and  drank,  now  and  then 
offering  the  bottle  to  the  preacher  and  railing  at  him 
with  oaths.  Unable  to  disconcert  him  in  this  way, 
they  drew  from  their  pockets  a  pack  of  cards  and 
began  to  play  upon  the  platform  upon  which  he  had 
been  preaching,  just  so  soon  as  he  had  closed.  It  is 
said  that  the  object  of  these  disturbers  was  to  pro- 
voke him  into  open  reproof  of  their  conduct  that 
they  might  find  occasion  to  beat  him." 

The  officers  of  the  law  transcended  the  limits  of 
their  authority  in  imprisoning  men  for  preaching, 
as  no  law  existed  forbidding  such  exercise.  Con- 
sidering the  unreasonable  extremity  of  the  penal 
code  in  many  particulars,  it  is  somewhat  remarkable 


1  Bitting,  "  Religious  Liberty  and  the  Baptists." 

2  Semple,  "History  of  the  Rise  and  Progress  of  the  Baptists  of 
Virginia,"  p.  36. 


STRUGGLE    FOR    FREEDOM  69 

that  there  should  have  been  the  omission  of  a  law 
against  the  preaching  of  dissenters.  In  the  absence 
of  such  a  law  the  persecutors  fell  back  upon  a  stat- 
ute upon  which  was  placed  a  forced  construction  in 
order  that  they  might  be  justified  in  such  procedure. 
The  statute  behind  which  they  took  refuge  to  sustain 
such  action  was  that  relating  to  the  preservation  of 
the  peace.  Consequently  Baptist  preachers  were  ar- 
rested as  disturbers  of  the  peace  of  the  community. 
It  is  believed  that  the  first  imprisonment  for 
preaching  took  place  in  Spottsylvania  County,  Vir- 
ginia, on  June  4,  1768.  At  that  time  John  Waller, 
Lewis  Craig,  James  Childs,  and  others,  "  were  seized 
by  the  sheriif  and  hauled  before  three  magistrates 
who  stood  in  the  meeting-house  yard,  and  who 
bound  them  over  in  the  penalty  of  one  thousand 
pounds  to  appear  at  court  two  days  after.^  At 
court  they  were  arraigned  as  disturbers  of  the  peace, 
and  on  their  trial  were  vehemently  accused  by  a 
certain  lawyer,  who  said  to  the  court:  "May  it 
please  your  worships,  these  men  are  great  disturbers 
of  the  peace ;  they  cannot  meet  a  man  upon  the 
road  but  they  run  a  text  of  Scripture  down  his 
throat."  One  of  the  number.  Walker,  made  an  in- 
genious defense  of  himself  and  of  his  companions. 
Indeed,  so  adroit  was  the  line  of  defense  that  the 
persecutors  were  thrown  into  perplexity,  and  finally 
adopted  the  expedient  of  proposing  to  release  them 
upon  a  "  promise  to  preach  no  more  in  the  county 
1  Semple,  p.  29. 


60      HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

for  a  year  and  a  day."  But  this  proposal  they 
finally  declined  to  accept  and  were  consequently  sent 
to  jail.  As  they  moved  along  the  streets  of  Fred- 
ericksburg, surrounded  by  the  guard  who  escorted 
them  to  prison,  these  inoffensive  preachers  sang  the 
hymn  beginning,  "  Broad  is  the  road  that  leads  to 
death." 

Upon  being  liberated  after  the  lapse  of  a  month, 
Mr.  Craig  repaired  to  Williamsburg,  where  he  ap- 
pealed to  the  deputy-governor,  Hon.  John  Blair,  to 
release  his  comrades.  Thereupon  Mr.  Blair  ad- 
dressed the  king's  attorney  in  Spottsylvania  as  fol- 
lows : 

Sir  :  I  lately  received  a  letter  signed  by  a  good  num- 
ber of  worthy  gentlemen,  who  are  not  here,  complain- 
ing of  the  Baptists ;  the  particulars  of  their  misbe- 
havior are  not  told  any  further  than  their  running  into 
private  houses  and  making  dissensions.  Mr.  Craig  and 
Mr.  Benjamin  Waller  are  now  with  me  and  deny  the 
charge  ;  they  tell  me  that  they  are  willing  to  take  the 
oath  as  others  have  ;  I  told  them  I  had  consulted  the 
attorney-general,  who  is  of  opinion  that  the  General 
Court  only  have  a  right  to  grant  licenses,  and  therefore, 
I  referred  them  to  the  court ;  but  on  their  application 
to  the  attorney-general,  they  brought  me  this  letter  ad- 
vising me  to  write  to  you  :  That  their  petition  was  a 
matter  of  right,  and  that  you  may  not  molest  these  con- 
scientious people  so  long  as  they  behave  themselves  in  a 
manner  becoming  pious  Christians  and  in  obedience  to 
the  laws  till  the  court,  when  they  intend  to  apply  for  li- 
cense, and  when  the  gentleinen  who  complain  may 
make  their  objections  and  be  heard. 

The  act  of  toleration  (it  being  found  by  experience 


STRUGGLE    FOR    FREEDOM  61 

that  persecuting  dissenters  increases  their  members)  has 
given  them  a  right  to  apply,  in  a  proper  manner,  for  li- 
censed houses  for  the  worship  of  God,  according  to  their 
consciences  ;  and  I  persuade  myself  that  the  gentlemen 
will  quietly  overlook  their  meetings  till  the  court.  I  am 
told  they  administer  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per near  the  manner  we  do,  and  differ  from  our  church 
in  nothing  but  in  that  of  baptism,  and  in  their  renew- 
ing the  ancient  discipline,  by  which  they  have  reformed 
some  sinners  and  brought  them  to  be  truly  penitent.  Nay, 
if  a  man  of  theirs  is  idle  and  neglects  to  labor  and  pro- 
vide for  his  family  as  he  ouglit,  he  incurs  their  censures, 
which  have  had  good  effects.  If  this  be  their  behavior, 
it  were  to  be  wished  we  had  more  of  it  among  us.  But 
at  least  I  hope  all  may  remain  quiet  till  the  court. 
I  am  with  great  respect, 

To  the  gentlemen,  etc.. 
Your  humble  servant, 

John  Blair. 

Williamsburg,  July  16, 1768. 

Forty-three  days  elapsed  after  the  receipt  of  this 
letter  before  any  step  whatever  was  taken  in  behalf 
of  the  imprisoned  preachers  ;  but  at  the  expiration 
of  that  time  they  were  released  without  a  word. 
While  confined  in  the  Spottsylvania  jail  these  men 
preached  through  prison  bars  to  the  crowds  assem- 
bled W'ithout.  Seeing  that  the  multitudes  were  be- 
ing singularly  affected  by  the  preaching  done  under 
such  novel  circumstances,  an  opposing  mob  gath- 
ered, and  by  hoots  and  yells  sought  to  drown  the 
voices  of  the  preachers.  Released  from  prison, 
these  earnest  men  of  God  preached  with  more  dili- 
gence and  zeal  than  before.     Sympathy  for  the  lib- 


62      HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

erated  men  was  now  coupled  with  the  power  of 
their  preaching,  and  there  was  abundantly  illus- 
trated the  suggestion  made  in  the  letter  of  Deputy- 
governor  Blair,  that  persecution  was  only  produc- 
tive of  richer  results  to  the  persecuted. 

In  December,  1770,  two  ardent  young  preachers, 
William  Webber  and  Joseph  Anthony,  were  invited 
by  some  of  the  inhabitants  of  Chesterfield  County 
to  visit  that  region  and  hold  a  series  of  meetings. 
The  character  of  their  preaching  was  such  as  to 
arouse  the  opposition  of  the  magistrates,  who  charged 
Webber  and  Anthony  with  ''  turning  the  people 
to  madness."  They  were  promptly  arrested  and 
thrown  into  prison.  Certain  terms  having  been 
submitted,  they  declined  to  accept  them  for  con- 
scientious reasons  and  remained  in  prison  for  four 
months.  But  they  were  not  idle.  Curious  and 
sympathizing  crowds  hung  about  the  jail  windows 
day  after  day,  and  were  preached  to  by  Webber  and 
Anthony.  The  imprisonment  of  these  young  men 
led  to  results  which  utterly  defeated  the  object  of 
their  incarceration,  for  it  was  the  beginning  of  a 
mighty  work  in  Chesterfield  County,  and  led  to  an 
extensive  prevalence  of  Baptist  principles  through- 
out that  region  of  country.  After  the  release  of 
Webber  and  Anthony  from  Chesterfield  jail,  they 
repaired  to  Goochland  County.  Thence  Webber 
proceeded  to  Middlesex  County  where  we  find  him 
again  thrown  into  prison. 

While  preaching  he  was  approached  by  a  magis- 


STKUGGLE    FOR    FREEDOM  63 

trate  with  a  drawn  club,  who  would  have  felled  the 
preacher  to  the  ground  had  not  the  instrument  been 
caught  by  some  one  from  behind.  There  were  sev- 
eral Baptist  preachers  present  upon  the  last-named 
occasion,  all  of  whom  were  arrested,  the  magis- 
trate being  supported  by  a  clergyman  of  the  Epis- 
copacy, tAvo  sheriffs,  and  a  posse.'  The  preachers 
who  were  seized  by  the  officers  on  this  occasion 
were  William  Webber,  John  Walker,  James  Green- 
wood, and  Robert  Ware.  They  were  accompanied 
to  the  meeting  by  Thomas  Wofford,  a  layman,  who 
was  severely  beaten  with  a  whip  by  the  officers,  and 
turned  loose  with  a  number  of  severe  wounds. 
Diligent  search  was  made  through  the  contents  of 
the  saddle-bags  of  these  traveling  ministers  to  as- 
certain if  they  bore  treasonable  papers.  Failing  to 
discover  such,  an  attempt  was  made  to  extort  from 
each  one  separately,  in  a  room  apart,  a  promise  not 
to  preach  in  the  county  again,  the  magistrates  prom- 
ising liberation  upon  condition  that  such  assurance 
be  given.  But  the  proposal  was  met  by  a  prompt 
and  firm  refusal.  The  four  preachers  were  at  once 
thrown  into  a  prison  swarming  with  vermin.  On 
the  following  day,  which  was  Sunday,  their  friends 
vied  with  each  other  in  seeking  to  contribute  to  the 
comfort  of  the  imprisoned  preachers.  While  these 
sympathizers  were  gathered  within  the  precincts  of 
the  jail,  the  opportunity  was  seized  upon  for  hold- 

1  Semple,  ' '  History  of  the  Rise  and  Progress  of  the  Baptists  of 
Virginia,"  p.  34. 


64      HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

ing  sacred  Avorship,  and  services  were  announced  to 
be  held  from  the  jail  windows  every  Wednesday 
and  Sunday  thereafter.  The  multitudes  thronged 
in  such  numbers  upon  their  preaching  that  their 
enemies  were  thoroughly  enraged  and  caused  a  drum 
to  be  beaten,  during  the  service,  in  order  to  drown 
the  voice  of  the  preacher.  In  all  this,  the  preach- 
ers though  imprisoned  were  really  the  victors,  for 
these  demonstrations  of  disorder  aroused  public 
sympathy  and  gained  respectful  audience  for  Bap- 
tist preachers  ever  afterward  in  that  region.  This 
sympathy  on  the  part  of  the  people  at  large  was 
not  a  little  enhanced  when  these  prisoners  were  led 
forth  to  trial  attended  by  armed  guards,  as  if  they 
had  been  ordinary  criminals. 

In  the  courts,  personal  pleas  were  denied  them, 
and  choice  was  given  between  abandonment  of 
preaching  in  the  county,  and  returning  to  jail. 
They  quietly  chose  the  latter  alternative  and  were 
thrust  into  prison  upon  a  scanty  and  restricted  diet 
of  bread  and  water.  After  four  davs'  sufFerins:  for 
food  and  drink,  their  condition  became  known  with- 
out, and  friends  really  overwhelmed  them  w^th  sup- 
plies of  necessaries,  so  much  so  that  the  ministers 
were  able  for  several  days  together  to  feed  the  poor 
of  the  towui  of  Urbana,  in  which  they  were  im- 
prisoned. 

Every  incident  seemed  to  conspire  to  the  further- 
ance of  the  gospel.  As  has  already  been  seen,  pub- 
lic sympathy  was  thoroughly  stirred  in  behalf  of 


STRUGGLE    FOR    FREEDOM  65 

the  prisoners  and  was  deepened  by  the  patience  and 
forbearance  with  which  they  endured  their  wrongs. 
To  all  of  this  was  added  tlie  sickness  of  Mr. 
Webber  which,  when  taken  in  connection  with  the 
serious  regard  with  which  the  public  considered  the 
unjust  imprisonment  of  these  men  of  God,  served 
to  invest  the  old  jail  with  an  air  of  solemnity  and 
made  it  the  most  honored  locality  in  all  the  town. 
The  multitudes  which  continued  to  gather  about  the 
jail  windows  became  more  curious  and  anxious  still, 
and,  by  degrees,  came  to  regard  the  prison  with 
somewhat  of  superstitious  reverence.  After  remaining 
in  jail  a  month  and  a  half  longer,  these  men  were 
set  free  upon  condition  of  giving  bond  for  future 
good  behavior. 

In  Culpeper  again  James  Ireland  was  arrested 
and  brought  before  magistrates  who  grossly  mal- 
treated him  and  then  thrust  him  into  jail.  The 
harsh  treatment  to  which  he  was  subjected  came 
well-nigh  costing  him  his  life.  More  than  one 
attempt  was  made  upon  his  life  while  confined  in 
prison,  but  each  effort  failed.  Gunpowder  was  used 
to  blow  into  atoms  the  jail  in  which  he  was  con- 
fined, and  the  attempt  failed  only  because  of  its  in- 
sufficiency. At  another  time  suffocation  was  at- 
tempted by  the  use  of  brimstone,  and  at  another 
still  his  destruction  was  sought  by  the  use  of  poison. 
These  repeated  deliverances  from  death,  coupled 
with  the  tokens  of  love  from  his  brethren  without, 
converted  his  cell  into  a  spiritual  hermitage.     His 


66      HISTORY  OP  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

vivacity  of  spirit  led  him,  while  writing  from 
prison,  to  address  his  letters  "  From  my  palace  in 
Culpeper."  Like  his  imprisoned  brethren,  Ireland 
preached  to  the  crowds  from  his  iron-barred  win- 
dows. In  the  same  county  of  Culpeper,  Sanders, 
Craig,  Maxwell,  Corbley,  and  Amnion  were  impris- 
oned for  preaching  ;  two  private  members,  Maxwell 
and  Banks,  were  arrested  for  holding  a  prayer  meet- 
ing ;  and  Delaney,  who  was  not  a  Baptist,  was  ar- 
rested for  allowing  a  meeting  to  be  held  in  his 
home,  so  utterly  intolerant  and  filled  with  the  spirit 
of  persecution  had  the  authorities  become. 

The  irony  of  history  is  illustrated  in  the  fact 
that  upon  the  identical  spot  where  the  old  jail  stood 
in  Culpeper,  a  Baptist  church  is  now  located.  A 
similar  retributive  justice  has  been  visited  upon  the 
original  location  of  the  jail  of  Urbana,  in  the  county 
of  Middlesex,  where  were  imprisoned  Waller,  Ware, 
Greenwood,  and  Webber.  Numerous  other  in- 
stances are  upon  record  of  the  struggles  for  con- 
science' sake  in  Virginia,  extending  even  to  the 
period  of  the  dawn  of  the  Revolution.  Persecu- 
tions similar  to  those  already  enumerated  were  rife 
also  in  the  counties  of  King  and  Queen,  Lunen- 
berg.  Orange,  Fauquier,  Caroline,  Richmond,  and 
others. 

In  1774  James  Madison  was  so  profoundly 
aroused  by  the  prevailing  persecutions  in  different 
portions  of  his  native  State,  that  he  wrote  to  a  friend 
in  Pennsylvania : 


STRUGGLE    FOR    FREEDOM  67 

That  diabolical,  hell-conceived  principle  of  persecu- 
tion rages  among  some,  and  to  their  eternal  infamy  be 
it  said  the  clergy  can  furnish  their  quota  of  imps  for 
such  purposes.  There  are,  at  this  time,  in  the  adjacent 
county,  not  less  than  five  or  six  well-meaning  men  in 
close  jail  for  publishing  their  religious  sentiments, 
which,  in  the  main,  are  very  orthodox. 

Be  it  said  to  the  honor  of  James  Madison,  that  he 
was  the  inflexible  friend  of  soul-liberty  in  the 
midst  of  the  most  stirring  periods  of  Virginian 
history.  He  sanctioned  to  the  utmost,  the  views 
advocated  by  the  early  Baptist  fathers,  and  on  more 
than  one  occasion,  as  we  shall  hereafter  see,  became 
the  champion  of  Baptist  petitioners  in  the  legislature 
of  Virginia,  against  the  ablest  advocates  of  the  op- 
position. 

Up  to  this  time  our  attention  has  been  fixed  upon 
the  struggles  of  the  early  Baptists  of  Virginia  to 
procure  freedom  from  ecclesiastical  oppression. 
Great  prominence  has  thus  been  given  to  these 
struggles,  because  of  all  the  regions  of  the  South, 
the  greatest  oppression  was  experienced  by  the 
people  of  that  province.  But  ecclesiastical  cruelty 
was  not  confined  to  A^irginia,  for  wherever  the  bale- 
ful union  of  Church  and  State  existed,  there  was 
oppression  in  some  form. 

In  1698  a  serious  blunder  was  committed  by  the 
Baptists  of  Charleston  in  acquiescing  in  a  measure 
which  was  fraught  with  much  future  evil.  That  it 
would  lead  to  such  serious  consequences  was  not,  at 


68      HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

the  time,  so  clearly  indicated  by  reason  of  the  inco- 
herent condition  of  society.  The  mistake  was  an 
agreement  on  the  part  of  the  entire  colony,  includ- 
ing the  Baptists,  of  course,  to  suifer  the  passage  of 
a  bill  "  allowing  the  Episcopal  minister  of  Charles- 
ton and  his  successors  forever,  a  salary  of  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  pounds  sterling,  together  with  a 
house,  glebe,  and  two  servants." '  The  bill  secured 
a  passage  during  the  administration  of  Joseph  Blake 
as  governor  of  the  province.  Prompted  by  a  de- 
sire to  preserve  amicable  relations  among  the  dif- 
ferent elements  of  the  province.  Governor  Blake 
greatly  favored  the  measure,  and  through  his  in- 
fluence, as  the  friend  of  the  Baptists,  he  succeeded 
in  gaining  their  consent  and  co-operation.  The  in- 
iquitous measure  derived  additional  support  from 
the  amiable  character  and  popularity  of  the  rector 
of  the  Episcopal  church  at  Charleston  at  that  time. 
Rev.  Samuel  Marshall.  This  last  fact,  coupled  with 
the  conservative  policy  of  Governor  Blake,  blinded 
the  dissenters  to  all  apprehensions  of  subsequent 
mischief.  But  when,  at  a  later  period,  it  was  dis- 
covered that  the  proprietors 

Concerted  measures  for  endowing  the  church  of  the 
mother  countrj^,  and  for  advancing  it  in  South  Carohna 
to  a  legal  pre-eminence  ;  and  when  it  was  known  that  in 
order  to  that  end  they  labored  to  obtain  a  majority  of 
Episcopalians  in  the    provincial    legislature,   dissenters 

^B.  R.  Carroll,  "History  of  the  Colony  of  South  Carolina," 
Vol.  I.,  p.  126. 


STRUGGLE    FOR    FREEDOM  69 

took  alarm.  It  was  a  matter  of  surprise  to  many  that 
the  Episcoi3ahans,  by  energetic  maneuvering,  succeeded 
in  electing  a  majority  of  those  to  the  provincial  legisla- 
ture who  were  friendly  to  their  restricted  views.  ^ 

Having  the  majority,  these  political  ecclesiastics 
at  once  took  steps  to  perpetuate  the  power  which 
they  had  obtained.  The  advantage  gained  in  the 
outset  encouraged  them  to  take  bolder  strides  in  the 
direction  of  a  permanent  establishment  of  churchly 
power  in  the  Carolina  province.  The  next  step  was 
the  enactment  of  a  law  making  it  necessary  for  all 
legislators  thereafter  chosen  "  to  conform  to  the  re- 
ligious worship  of  the  Church  of  England  and  to 
receive  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  accord- 
ing to  the  rights  and  usages  of  that  church."  Fail- 
ure on  the  part  of  any  candidate  to  comply  with 
this  provision,  no  matter  how  great  his  majority 
of  the  popular  vote,  rendered  him  ineligible  to  a 
seat  in  the  Commons'  House  of  Assembly.  The 
name  of  such  a  one  being  dropped  because  of  non- 
conformity to  the  provision,  the  candidate  receiving 
the  next  highest  vote  was  considered  in  the  same 
manner,  and  was  dropped  or  retained  according  to 
his  compliance  or  noncompliance  with  the  condition 
already  named.  It  is  clearly  seen  that  such  a  pro- 
ceeding might  make  one  a  representative,  though 
he  received  the  smallest  number  of  votes.  These 
measures  were  enacted  under  the  direction  of  Lord 
Granville. 

1  Ramsey,  "South  Carolina,"  Vol.  II.,  p.  3. 


70      HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

The  result  of  this  gross  assumption  on  the  part 
of  the  Establishment  was  great  popular  indignation.' 
But  this  did  not  deter  the  party  in  power  from  a 
continuance  of  abuses,  for  the  measures  just  named 
were  followed  up  by  another  arbitrary  Act  which 
provided  for  extending  and  maintaining  the  mode  of 
worship  of  the  Establishment.  Money  was  pro- 
vided by  law  for  the  erection  and  repairing  of  Epis- 
copal meeting-houses  ;  lands  for  parochial  farms  and 
for  churchyards  were  provided  for  by  donation,' 
purchase,  or  grants  from  the  proprietors  at  the  pub- 
lic expense ;  salaries  were  fixed  and  made  payable 
out  of  the  provisional  treasury  for  rectors,  clerks, 
and  sextons  of  the  Established  parishes.  Episcopal 
clergymen  were  encouraged  by  legislative  enact- 
ment to  remove  to  the  province  and  to  exercise 
their  clerical  functions  in  the  several  parishes  desig- 
nated by  law.  To  such  as  were  disposed  to  accept 
governmental  inducement,  twenty-five  pounds  was 
given  from  the  provincial  treasury  immediately  upon 
their  arrival,  and  the  annual  stipends,  provided  by 
law,  began  at  once. 

But  another  measure,  equally  obnoxious  with 
those  just  quoted,  was  adopted.  There  was  organ- 
ized an  arbitrary  court  of  High  Commission  "for 
the  trial  of  ecclesiastical  causes  and  the  preserva- 
tion of  religious  uniformity  in  Carolina." 

Be  it  said  to  the  honor  of  some  churchmen  that 
because  of  different  reasons,  one  or  both  of  the  last- 
iRamsey,  "South  Carolina,"  Vol.  II.,  p.  3. 


STRUGGLE    FOR    FREEDOM  71 

named  enactments  met  their  strongest  opposition. 
The  creation  of  the  ecclesiastical  court  awakened 
strenuous  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  Society  for  the 
Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts,  and  they 
declined  to  send  out  other  missionaries  until  that  act 
was  repealed.  Prompt  steps  were  at  once  taken  to 
bring  to  the  attention  of  the  mother  country  the  tyr- 
anny which  was  prevailing  in  the  province  of  Caro- 
lina. So  impressed  was  the  House  of  Lords  with  the 
presentation  of  these  facts  that  the  queen  was  advised 
to  annul  the  offensive  laws.  The  annulment  of  the 
proprietary  charter  was  advised  by  the  Board  of 
Trade.  These  obnoxious  laws  were  finally  an- 
nulled, and  it  was  manifest  from  this  time  that  the 
charter  would  be  revoked  and  that  the  province 
would  pass  directly  under  the  control  of  the  crown. 
The  issue  was  at  once  joined,  and  the  people  were 
triumphant  over  the  lords-proprietors  and  their  rep- 
resentatives as  early  as  1720,  but  the  change  was 
not  effected  until  nine  years  later.  The  utmost  that 
was  secured  by  this  popular  victory  was  the  tolera- 
tion of  evangelical  forms  of  Christianity.  The 
Church  of  England,  under  the  new  charter,  was  es- 
tablished and  maintained  in  the  province  at  public 
expense,  notwithstanding  it  is  estimated  that  at  that 
time  at  least  two-thirds  of  the  population  were  dis- 
senters. - 

In  North  Carolina  the  condition  of  things  was 
very  similar  to  that  already  described  as  obtaining 
in  South  Carolina.     As  early  as  1678  serious  re- 


72      HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

monstrance  was  made,  under  the  lead  of  John  Cul- 
peper,  against  the  encroachments  of  provincial  au- 
thority. In  1704  a  partisan  law  was  enacted  by  the 
General  Assembly,  "  disfranchising  all  dissenters 
from  any  office  of  trust,  honor,  or  profit."  ^  A  pre- 
vious Assembly  (1702)  had  enacted  a  law  whereby 
each  precinct  should  raise  thirty  pounds  to  support 
a  minister  of  the  Church  of  England.  Naturally 
enough  this  produced  much  public  commotion,  in 
which  all  dissenters  were  united — Baptists,  Quakers, 
Presbyterians,  and  Lutherans.  A  clearer  view  of 
religious  intolerance  in  North  Carolina  is  gained 
by  the  following  extract  from  Williams'  "  History," 
published  in  1812 : 

Carolina  had  been  settled  many  years,  as  we  have 
seen,  before  bigotry  or  pride,  under  the  venerable  cloak 
of  religion,  began  to  vex  the  inhabitants.  Provision 
was  made  near  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century 
for  the  clergy  of  the  Church  of  England.  Magistrates 
were  authorized  to  join  people  in  marriage  in  parishes 
that  had  no  minister,  and  dissenters  from  the  estab- 
lished church  were  permitted  to  worship  in  public. 

In  the  year  1741  it  was  enacted  that  the  freeholders 
in  every  parish  should  choose  twelve  vestrymen  on 
Easter  TVIonday,  who  were  authorized  to  lay  a  poll-tax, 
not  exceeding  five  shillings  per  poll,  for  building 
churches,  buying  glebes,  and  maintaining  the  clergy, 
whose  respective  salaries  was  not  to  be  less  than  fifty 
pounds  proc.  per  annum.  It  was  increased  by  a  subse- 
quent law  to  one  hundred  and  thirty-three  pounds  six 
shillings  and  eight  pence.     By  another  law  it  was  pro- 

1  Wheeler,  "  History  of  North  Carolina,"  p.  34. 


STRUGGLE    FOR    FREEDOM  73 

vided  that  the  fee  of  a  clergyman  for  marrying  with  li- 
cense should  be  ten  shillings,  or  five  shillings  for  marry- 
ing by  publication.     The  license  was  a  device  for  in- 
creasing the  perquisites  of  the  governor.     It  will  readily 
be  conceived  that  in  a  parish  where  a  great  majority  of 
the  people  were  dissenters  they  would  choose  vestrymen 
who  had  no  disposition  to  lay  taxes  for  the  support  of 
a  church  in  which  they  did  not  worship.     But  when  it 
was  found  that  the  majority  were  not  disposed  to  tax 
themselves  for  the  convenience  of  other  people,  a  law 
was  devised  for  compelling  them,  under  the  sanction  of 
an  oath,  to  do  what  they  accounted  wrong.     Every  ves- 
tryman was  to  swear  that  he  "would  not  oppose  the 
doctrine,  discipline,  and  liturgy  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land "     Every  person  chosen  to  be  a  vestryman  and  re- 
fusing to  serve  was  to  pay  a  fine  of  three  pounds,  ami 
another  member  was  to  be  chosen  by  the  vestry  m  his 
place      It  was  presumed  that  twelve  Episcopalians,  or 
men  who  were  ready  to  take  the  oath,  would  be  found 
in  every  parish,  and  it  would  follow  that  taxes  would  be 
laid  for  the  Episcopal  church. 

The  law,  unjust  and  artful  as  it  was,  did  not  serve  the 
intended  purpose,  for  there  were  parishes  in  which  no 
vestrymen  were  chosen,  except  men  who  were  called  dis- 
senters, and  none  of  them  tendered  the  oath  to  his 
associates.  Hence  it  was  that  in  many  of  the  western 
parishes  no  provision  was  made  for  minis^ters  of  the 
Episcopal  church.  As  an  Assembly  had  been  found, 
during  the  administration  of  Governor  Dobbs,  capable 
of  passing  the  shameful  law  to  which  we  have  referred, 
there  were  people,  at  a  future  sitting  of  the  Assembly, 
ready  to  assist  in  making  that  law  a  more  perfect  system 
of  ecclesiastical  tyranny. 

In  proof  of  this  Dr.  Williamson  prints  a  copy  of  an 
"Address  to  the  Governor,   his  Majesty's  Honorable 


74     HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

Council,  and  the  House  of  Burgesses  of  North  Carolina 
from  sundry  inhabitants  of  the  county  of  Rowan  "  pray- 
ing for  the  enforcement  of  the  law,  or  ' '  that  means  be 
taken  for  compelling  persons  chosen  vestrymen  to  take 
the  oaths  prescribed,  or  such  other  means  as  may  pro- 
duce a  regular  lawful  vestry." 

' '  There  were, ' '  says  Williamson,  ' '  thirty-four  sub- 
scribers to  the  petition  ;  six  of  them  made  their  marks, 
and  some  of  the  other  signatures  are  hardly  legible. 
When  thirty-four  such  persons  could  propose  that  six  or 
seven  hundred  should  be  taxed  for  their  accommodation 
they  certainly  had  need  of  the  gospel  that  teaches  hu- 
mility." ^ 

The  most  serious  expression  of  persecution  in 
North  Carolina  occurred  in  Newbern,  Craven 
County,  in  1740.  It  seems  that  three  Baptist 
preachers,  Brinson,  Fulshire,  and  Purify,  upon  ap- 
plication for  license  to  build  a  church  in  Newbern, 
were  confronted  by  certain  accusers  who 

Made  oath  to  several  misdemeanors  committed  by  the 
sd  Petitioners  contrary  to  &  in  contempt  of  the  laws  now 
in  force.  Upon  which  it  was  ordered  by  this  court  the 
sd  Petitioners  be  bound  by  Recognizance  for  their  ap- 
pearance at  the  next  court  of  assize  and  Goale  delivery 
to  be  held  in  this  Town  then  and  there  to  answer  to  such 
things  as  they  shall  be  charged  with  and  in  the  mean- 
time be  of  Good  behavior  to  all  his  Magesties  Liege 
People. 

The  old  record,  as  examined  in  1883,  by  H.  S. 
Nunn,  editor  of  the  "  Newbern  Journal,"  disclosed 

iHugh  Williams,  "History  of  North  Carolina,"  Vol.  II.,  pp. 
115-118. 


STKUGGLE    FOR    FREEDOM  75 

the  fact  that  these  men  were  "  publicly  whipped, 
bound  over  to  keep  the  peace,  and  required  to  give 
bond  for  their  good  behavior  and  also  to  take  the 
test  oath."  ' 

There  seems  to  be  little  doubt  that  the  preachers 
already  named  were  not  only  whipped,  but  impris- 
oned for  the  period  of  three  months.  The  records 
of  the  same  court  bear  evidence  of  the  fact  that  the 
persecution  of  Baptists  was  quite  common  in  that 
region  between  the  years  1730  and  1745.  AVhile 
North  Carolina  was  comparatively  free  from  severe 
methods  of  persecution,  still  it  was  visited  in  a 
variety  of  ways  upon  dissenters.  One  of  the  means 
employed  was  that  of  the  enforcement  upon  all  dis- 
senters of  the  tithe  system,  while  another  was  the 
enforcement  of  the  muster  laws  of  the  province 
against  all  dissenting  ministers,  while  those  of  the 
Establishment  were  exempt ;  still  another  was,  the 
prohibition  of  officiation  in  marriage  by  Baptist 
ministers.  The  last-named  law  was  annulled  in 
1776. 

Georgia  Baptists  were  as  firm  in  withstanding  the 
aggressions  of  the  State  upon  the  prerogatives  of  the 

1  The  truthfulness  of  this  statement  has  been  challenged.  In 
order  to  confirm  it,  the  late  Rev.  C.  Durham,  of  Raleigh,  N.  C, 
visited  Newbern,  but  found  that  the  old  record  from  which  the 
extract  had  been  taken  had  "  seemingly  by  design  been  mutilated 
— a  half-page  cut  or  torn  out — a  page,  two  pages,  and  at  a  num- 
ber of  places  from  three  to  six  pages,  have  been  cut  or  torn  out. 
When  or  by  whom  this  was  done,  or  just  what  was  their  real 
object  we  cannot  here  and  now  discuss  "  (Rev.  C.  Durham,  in 
"  Biblical  Recorder,"  for  March  29  and  April  5,  1893). 


76      HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

church  as  were  those  of  any  other  of  the  Southern 
provinces.  Their  declination  to  pay  a  tax  to  the 
State  for  the  support  of  the  church  was  at  once  firm 
and  positive.  With  equal  stoutness  they  refused 
the  funds  offered  from  the  public  treasury  for  the 
support  of  tlieir  own  churches.  The  law  which 
prevailed  in  the  other  provinces  relative  to  the  levy- 
ing of  taxes  for  the  erection  and  repair  of  churches 
and  for  the  payment  of  the  salaries  of  church  offi- 
cials obtained  in  the  province  of  Georgia  also. 

While  a  dissenting  congregation  might  apply  for  a 
grant  of  land  whereon  to  build  a  church  with  some 
assurance  that  the  aijplication  would  not  be  alto- 
gether unheeded,  there  was  an  evident  intention  on 
the  part  of  the  government,  both  royal  and  colonial, 
to  engraft  the  Church  of  England  upon  the  prov- 
ince, and  to  contribute  with  partial  hand  to  its 
maintenance. 

When  on  February  21,  1785,  the  legislature 
passed  an  Act  for  the  support  of  religion,  providing 
that  "  thirty  heads  of  families  "  in  any  community 
might  choose  a  minister  "  to  explain  and  inculcate 
the  duties  of  religion,"  and  "four  pence  on  every 
hundred  pounds  valuation  of  property "  should  be 
taken  from  the  public  tax  for  the  support  of  such 
minister,  the  Baptists  of  Georgia  promptly  protested. 
It  would  have  been  easy  to  avail  themselves  of  the 
provisions  of  this  Act,  for  they  formed  a  large  ma- 
jority of  the  population  in  many  portions  of  the 
province ;    but   instead,    they   united   in  a  remon- 


STRtJGGLE    FOR    FREEDOM  77 

strance  and  sent  it  by  the  hands  of  Silas  Mercer 
and  Peter  Smith,  praying  that  a  law  so  obnoxious  be 
repealed,  and  it  was  done/ 

The  difficulties  which  encompassed  the  Baptists 
who  first  settled  in  Mississippi  were  greatly  increased 
when  they  undertook  to  exercise  the  liberty  of  wor- 
ship. As  has  already  been  seen  the  original  Bap- 
tists of  Mississippi  came  from  South  Carolina  and 
Georgia.  The  headway  rapidly  gained  in  the 
Natchez  settlements,  aroused  the  sturdy  opposition 
of  the  Romish  priests.  No  violent  demonstrations 
were  exhibited,  however,  until  indiscreet  attacks 
were  made  by  some  of  the  Baptist  ministry  upon  the 
faith  of  the  Catholics.  This  uncalled-for  assault 
furnished  an  occasion  for  the  vent  of  Romish  wrath 
which  had  been  accumulating  commensurately  with 
the  prevalence  of  Baptist  principles  in  the  new 
settlements  on  the  Mississippi.  Nor  was  the  situ- 
ation in  the  least  relieved  by  the  conversion  of 
Roman  Catholics  to  the  Baptist  faith. 

After  the  flight  of  Curtis  and  d'Alvoy  there  was 
quiet  in  the  Natchez  settlements  for  a  brief  period, 
but  the  Baptists  continued  to  hold  their  meetings 
with  more  or  less  secrecy,  and  the  Romanists  grew 
more  vigilant.  Owen,  a  Baptist  preacher,  was 
forced  to  secrete  himself  for  a  season,  in  order  to 
escape  the  clutches  of  the  watchful  priests,  and 
Bailey  Chaney  fled  the  province  lest  he  fall  into 

»"  Public   Recs.  of    Ga."     MS.  Vol.  B,  p.  284,   "Marshall 
Papers." 


78      HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

their  hands.  Meanwhile  converts  to  the  Baptist 
faith  continued  to  multiply,  and  at  one  time  a  num- 
ber of  these  remained  unbaptized  for  a  period,  be- 
cause all  authorized  administrators  had  fled  ;  but  in 
the  emergency  the  church  wisely  chose  Deacon 
William  Chaney  to  perform  the  rite. 

Somewhat  later,  a  minister  named  Mulkey  made 
his  appearance  in  the  Natchez  district.  He  is  said 
to  have  been  a  preacher  of  more  than  ordinary 
ability,  and  one  possessed  of  excellent  spirit.  The 
former  interest  in  Baptist  meetings,  which  had  oc- 
casioned so  much  concern  on  the  part  of  the  Cath- 
olics, was  revived  under  the  preaching  of  Mr.  Mul- 
key. Emboldened  by  their  late  efforts  in  the  sup- 
pression of  such  religious  demonstrations,  the  Cath- 
olics sent  an  officer  to  arrest  Mulkey  on  the  occasion 
of  one  of  his  meetings,  but  the  assembly,  aroused  by 
a  spirit  of  honest  indignation,  boldly  resisted  such 
unwarranted  interference  and  drove  the  officer  and 
his  guard  away.  Determining  no  longer  to  be  kept 
upon  the  defensive,  the  infuriated  people  seized  their 
arms  and  marched  against  the  local  fort  which  was 
under  the  command  of  Gov.  Don  Manuel  Gayoso  de 
Senies,  at  whose  instigation  all  the  previous  trouble 
had  been  fomented.  Alarmed  by  the  appearance  of 
so  formidable  a  body  of  indignant  people,  and  find- 
ing himself  too  weak  to  resist  them,  the  governor 
consented  to  allow  them  to  proceed  unmolested  with 
their  meetings,  but  sent  a  secret  agent  forthAvith  to 
Baton  Rouge   for   reinforcements,  and   as   soon   as 


STRUGGLE    FOR    FREEDOM  79 

they  arrived  placed  himself  in  a  hostile  attitude. 
The  Baptists  were  again  routed,  Mulkey  and  others 
left  the  province,  and  tyranny  was  again  dominant. 
About  1796  Col.  Andrew  Ellicott  was  deputed  a 
special  commissioner  of  the  United  States  to  confer 
with  the  Spanish  authorities  of  the  Natchez  dis- 
trict, about  which  there  was  some  dispute  between 
Spain  and  America.  Upon  the  arrival  of  Col. 
Ellicott,  a  Baptist  minister.  Rev.  Mr.  Hannah,  ap- 
plied to  him  for  permission  to  preach  in  the  camp 
of  his  escort.  Deference  to  Governor  Gayoso 
prompted  the  colonel  to  refer  the  matter  to  him,  and 
Gayoso  consented.  The  sermon  by  Hannah  led  to 
a  subsequent  discussion  between  himself  and  a 
batch  of  Irish  Catholics,  who  had  previously  beaten 
him  severely.  Applying  to  Gayoso  for  protection, 
Hannah  was  summarily  arrested,  thrown  into  prison, 
and  his  feet  were  made  fast  in  stocks.  This  led  to 
a  disturbance  between  the  governor  and  Colonel  El- 
licott, the  latter  threatening  to  destroy  the  Spanish 
fort  if  matters  Avere  not  speedily  adjusted.  After  a 
formal  negotiation  of  two  weeks,  Mr.  Hannah  was 
set  at  liberty.  Upon  the  reluctant  abandonment  of 
the  Natchez  district  by  the  Spaniards,  the  Americans 
promptly  built  a  considerable  arbor  and  appointed 
Rev.  Bailey  Chaney  to  "preach  under  the  Stars  and 
Stripes."  An  immense  concourse  of  people  greeted 
him,  and  great  was  the  enjoyment  of  the  first  relig- 
ious service  held  in  the  Natchez  district  under  the 
government  of  the  United  States. 


CHAPTER  III 

SOUTHEEN    BAPTISTS   AND   THE    EE VOLUTION 

THE  contest  for  civil  liberty  in  America  followed 
a  long  and  bitter  struggle  for  religious  free- 
dom. It  would  seem  that  the  one  was  productive 
of  the  other,  if  indeed  it  was  not  the  same  struggle 
which  came  naturally  to  involve  the  question  of 
civil  freedom  in  common  with  that  of  religious 
emancipation  in  the  outworking  of  the  principle  of 
liberty  in  Arnerica.  Hence  it  is  easy  to  see  how 
the  Baptists  of  the  several  colonies  of  the  South 
would  become  prompt  contributors  to  the  spirit 
which  kindled  the  fires  of  the  Revolution.  It  was 
the  same  spirit  which  had  animated  them  for  almost 
a  century  in  resisting  the  oppression  of  a  tyrannous 
power.  Naturally  enough  they  would  regard  the 
impending  struggle  not  as  a  political  contest  alone, 
but  as  one  involving  all  that  was  cherished  by  a 
people  seeking  to  be  free.  Great  boon  as  political 
liberty  is,  religious  freedom  is  a  greater.  In  a  ver}^ 
important  sense  then,  the  matter  to  be  considered 
now  is  only  a  continuation  of  that  which  engaged 
our  attention  in  the  preceding  chapter. 

The  first  note  of  the  American  Revolution  was 
sounded  at  Alamance,  North  Carolina,  on  May  16, 

80 


SOUTHERN  BAPTISTS  AND  THE  REVOLUTION      81 

1771.  To  this  event  sufficient  prominence  has 
never  been  accorded,  either  in  civil  or  religious  his- 
tory. 

It  was  the  first  popular  uprising  of  any  consider- 
able portion  of  the  American  colonists  against  the 
encroachments  of  the  representatives  of  the  British 
crown.  The  primary  cause  of  this  outburst  of 
popular  indignation  was  the  passage  of  what  is 
known  as  the  "Vestry  Act/'  referred  to  in  the 
previous  chapter,  which  was  adopted  by  the  As- 
sembly in  1764,  during  the  administration  of  Gov- 
ernor Dobbs.  The  chief  provision  of  that  meas- 
ure was  the  support  of  the  Episcopal  clergy  and 
the  erection  of  Episcopal  houses  of  worship ;  but 
the  methods  adopted  for  assessing  and  collecting 
these  taxes,  and  for  the  imposition  of  fines  and  pen- 
alties, aroused  at  the  very  outset  great  popular  op- 
position. The  initial  provision  was  that  every 
freeholder  who  owned  fifty  acres  of  land  was  re- 
quired by  law  to  meet  at  the  courthouse  on  Easter 
Monday  to  elect  twelve  vestrymen.  Failure  to  do 
so  subjected  one  to  a  fine  of  twenty  shillings  "to 
be  recovered  by  a  warrant  from  any  justice  of  the 
peace  within  the  limits  of  said  county."  In  order 
to  exclude  all  dissenters  it  was  provided  that  the 
vestrymen  be  required  to  subscribe  to  an  oath  "  not 
to  oppose  the  doctrine,  discipline,  and  liturgy  of  the 
Church  of  England,  as  by  law  established,"  To 
these  vestrymen  was  given  power  to  levy  taxes,  to 
build  churches  and  chapels,  pay  ministers'  salaries, 


82      HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

purcliase  a  glebe,  erect  a  mansion  and  convenient 
outhouses,  maintain  the  poor,  pay  clerks  and  readers, 
and  defray  other  incidental  charges  of  the  parish; 
and  the  minister  could  bring  suit  against  the  vestry- 
men if  they  should  fail  or  refuse  "  to  lay  a  sufficient 
tax  to  satisfy "  him.  The  sheriif  was  required 
under  a  heavy  bond  to  collect  the  taxes  thus  im- 
posed. 

The  eifort  to  enforce  such  a  law  created  wide- 
spread dissatisfaction,  and  meetings  were  soon  called 
by  the  common  people  to  confer  about  the  opposi- 
tion which  was  to  be  interposed.  These  were  soon 
formed  into  a  popular  organization  known  as  the 
Regulators.  Instead  of  relenting  in  view  of  these 
expressions  of  popular  disapprobation,  Governor 
Dobbs  became  more  exacting,  and  the  complaints  of 
the  masses  grew  apace.  A  paper  was  established  at 
Wilmington,  in  1764,  known  as  "The  North  Caro- 
lina Gazette  and  Weekly  Post  Boy,"  which  gave 
the  current  news.  This  pioneer  enterprise  greatly 
aided  the  people  in  their  cause,  as  it  informed  them 
of  the  measures  which  were  from  time  to  time 
adopted  for  their  oppression.  Meanwhile  extor- 
tions became  rife  in  every  department  of  govern- 
ment. Lossing  says  that  "  deputy  surveyors,  entry- 
takers,  and  other  officers  of  inferior  grade,  became 
adepts  in  the  chicanery  of  their  superiors."  Mat- 
ters were  growing  rapidly  worse  and  the  situation 
was  not  in  the  least  relieved  by  the  receipt  of  the 
news  of  the  passage  of  the  Stamp  Act,  which  infor- 


SOUTHERN  BAPTISTS  AND  THE  REVOLUTION      83 

mation  reached  the  province  in  June,  1765.  Popu- 
lar gatherings  became  general.  The  people  were 
greatly  agitated.  After  more  than  one  popular  as- 
semblage, the  people  came  together  at  Hillsboro,  on 
April  4,  1767,  and  passed  resolutions  to  pay  no 
more  taxes  until  they  were  sure  of  their  legality  ; 
to  pay  officers  no  more  fees  than  was  rigidly  re- 
quired by  law,  unless  forced  to  do  so,  and  then  to 
show  open  resentment ;  to  be  cautious  in  the  selec- 
tion of  representatives  ;  to  petition  the  governor, 
council,  king,  and  parliament  for  a  redress  of  griev- 
ances ;  to  maintain  a  continual  correspondence 
among  the  members ;  to  defray  all  necessary  ex- 
penses ;  to  submit  all  differences  in  judgment  to  the 
whole  Regulation,  the  judgment  of  the  majority  to 
be  final  ;  and  closed  by  a  solemn  affirmation  "  to 
stand  true  and  faithful  to  this  cause  until  we  bring 
things  to  a  true  regulation." 

Commenting  upon  this  action  of  the  Carolina 
patriots,  Lossing  says  : 

The  resolutions  passed  at  this  meeting  were  almost 
equivalent  to  a  declaration  of  independence  of  the  civil 
power  of  the  State.  Tryon,  who  became  governor  of 
the  province  in  1765,  endeavored  to  crush  out  the  Regu- 
lation movement  by  bringing  to  bear  undue  influence 
upon  the  North  Carohna  Assembly,  and  referred  to  the 
"  Regulators  as  a  faction  of  Quakers  and  Baptists  who 
aimed  at  overturning  the  Church  of  England." 

At  the  time  of  this  period  of  agitation  the  Bap- 
tists were  by  great  odds  more  numerous  than  any 


84     HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

other  religious  denomiuation  in  the  province,  for 
there  were  twenty-two  Baptist  churches  in  seven- 
teen of  the  twenty-three  counties  in  North  Caro- 
lina. Some  of  these  churches,  like  the  Sandy  Creek 
Church,  had  a  numerous  membership.  Even  as 
early  as  1758  its  membership  numbered  nearly  nine 
hundred  members.  Trifling  as  the  numbers  of  the 
Episcopacy  were,  when  compared  with  those  of  the 
Baptists,  all  the  public  offices  were  held  by  the 
former  by  reason  of  the  failure  of  the  Baptists  to 
subscribe  to  the  tenets  of  the  Establishment.  And 
yet  the  Baptists  paid  a  large  portion  of  the  taxes 
by  which  the  Establishment  was  maintained. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  see  the  inevitable  tendency  of 
such  a  condition  as  prevailed  for  many  years  in 
North  Carolina.  When  the  extreme  of  endurance 
had  been  reached,  the  people  openly  rebelled.  The 
clash  of  arms  came  at  Alamance.  The  Regulators, 
composed  largely  of  Baptists,  were  defeated  by  the 
royal  forces,  and  fled  toward  the  West.  The  result 
was  that  this  portion  of  North  Carolina  from  being 
one  of  those  in  which  Baptists  were  most  numerous 
was  now  almost  altogether  abandoned  by  them. 
Fleeing  westward  into  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  and 
Georgia,  Baptist  churches  sprang  up  wherever  they 
went.  In  accounting  for  this  precipitate  emigration, 
Morgan  Edwards,  a  Tory  Baptist,^  said  in  1775  : 

The  cause  of  this  dispersion  was  the  abuse  of  power 

1  "  He  was  the  only  Tory  in  the  ministry  of  the  American  Bap- 
tist churches." — Cathcart,  "  Baptist  Encyclopedia,^'  p.  S62. 


SOUTHERN  BAPTISTS  AND  THE  REVOLUTION      85 

which  too  much  prevailed  in  the  province  and  caused 
the  inhabitants  at  last  to  rise  up  in  arms  and  fight  for 
their  privileges  ;  but  being  routed,  May  16,  1771,  they 
despaired  of  seeing  better  times  and  therefore  quitted 
the  province.  It  is  said  one  thousand  five  hundred 
families  departed  since  the  battle  of  Alamance,  and,  to 
my  knowledge,  a  great  many  m.ore  are  only  waiting  to 
dispose  of  their  plantations  in  order  to  follow  them. 
This,  to  my  mind,  is  an  argument  that  their  grievances 
were  real,  and  their  oppression  great,  notwithstanding 
all  that  has  been  said  to  the  contrary. 

An  indication  of  the  extent  to  which  the  thrifty 
Baptist  communities  were  thinned  is  afforded  by  the 
fact  that  the  membership  of  the  Sandy  Creek 
Church,  near  which  the  battle  was  fought,  was  re- 
duced from  nine  hundred  to  a  membership  of  four- 
teen. 

Recoiling  from  the  oppression  visited  upon  them, 
the  Baptists  of  North  Carolina  came  to  question  the 
slightest  assumption  of  human  authority.  Oppres- 
sion had  driven  them  to  the  extreme  in  the  assertion 
of  the  principle  of  soul-liberty.  This  spirit  was 
shown  in  the  fact  that  the  Sandy  Creek  Association, 
during  a  period  of  thirty  or  forty  years,  and  the 
Yadkin,  for  a  period  of  twelve  years,  refused  to 
elect  moderators  to  preside  over  them.  From  a 
position  so  extreme,  they  were  dissuaded  by  John 
Gano  during  his  missionary  tour  through  the  South. 

Contemporary  with  these  revolutionary  move- 
ments in  North  Carolina  was  the  activity  in  the 
same  direction  on  the  part  of  the  Baptists  of  Vir- 


86      HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

ginia,  and  of  other  provinces  of  the  South.  Pro- 
tracted oppression  had  made  them  vigilant  of  the 
discovery  of  the  slightest  opportunity  to  contribute 
to  the  growing  complications  between  England  and 
the  American  colonies.  Promptly  seizing  upon 
these  advantages,  the  Baptists  of  the  South  wisely 
and  vigorously  pushed  them  toward  the  desired  end 
without  halt  or  compromise.  As  citizens  they 
struggled  for  civil  liberty ;  as  Christians,  for  relig- 
ious freedom. 

Of  one  thing  the  Baptists  never  lost  sight — that 
of  the  abolition  of  all  legal  ecclesiastical  distinc- 
tions. The  political  crisis  induced  by  the  growing 
exactions  of  the  mother  country  impelled  the  Bap- 
tists to  struggle  more  vigorously  for  the  attainment 
of  that  much  desired  end,  which  was  sought  for 
themselves  not  only,  but  for  all  citizens,  whether 
Christian,  Jew,  or  infidel.  That  for  which  they 
contended  was  a  divorcement  of  the  Church  from 
the  State,  that  the  former  might  work  out  its  own 
destiny  unaided  by  the  government ;  in  short,  their 
ultimate  object  was  absolute  religious  freedom.  In 
this  contest  Baptists  were  aided  by  the  Presbyteri- 
ans and  other  members  of  the  community.^  That 
the  spirit  of  the  Baptists  was  entirely  exempt  from 
hostility  to  any  other  sect,  and  that  they  w^ere  actu- 
ated solely  by  principle,  is  shown  by  the  fact  that 
at  the  session  of  the  General  Association  of  Vir- 
ginia in  1784,  public  fast  days  were  set  apart  "in 
^Semple,  "  Rise  and  Progress  of  Virginia  Baptists,"  pp.  26, 73. 


SOUTHERN  BAPTISTS  AND  THE  REVOLUTION      87 

behalf  of  our  poor  blind  persecutors  and  for  the  re- 
leasement  of  our  brethren."  ^ 

In  1775  the  General  Association  of  Virginia 
memorialized  the  Convention  of  the  province  to 
make  military  resistance  to  Great  Britain,  setting 
forth  at  the  same  time  in  a  Declaration  of  Princi- 
ples "  that  the  mere  toleration  of  religion  by  the 
civil  government  is  insufficient ;  that  no  State  re- 
ligious establishment  ought  to  exist ;  that  all  relig- 
ious denominations  ought  to  stand  on  the  same  foot- 
ing." Charged  with  a  copy  of  the  memorial,  a 
committee  was  deputed  by  the  General  Association 
to  attend  the  convention  and  to  lay  under  tribute  all 
legitimate  means  for  the  accomplishment  of  the  de- 
sired end.  All  that  was  asked  for  was  not  granted, 
but  an  extraordinary  concession  was  made  when  the 
Convention  gave  respectful  answer,  and  adopted  a 
resolution  granting  that  "  dissenting  clergymen  be 
permitted  to  celebrate  divine  worship  and  to  preach 
to  the  soldiers."  This  was  the  entering  wedge  to 
religious  equality  in  Virginia.  Doubtless  on  the 
part  of  the  Convention  this  was  intended  so  to  con- 
ciliate the  Baptists  that  they  would  desist  from 
further  effort.  So  far  from  that  being  true,  how- 
ever, it  only  served  to  stimulate  them  to  greater 
energy  and  more  vehement  protests.  If  it  gave 
hope  and  encouragement  to  Baptists,  it  must  have 
indicated  to  the  clergy  of  the  Establishment  that 
their  power  was  already  beginning  to  decline.     But 

1  Semple,  "  Rise  and  Progress  of  Virginia  Baptists,"  p.  56. 


88      HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

a  supremacy  so  long  and  profitably  enjoyed  was  not 
to  be  easily  surrendered.  Accordingly  the  clergy 
of  the  Establishment  began  at  once  an  active  can- 
vass, circulating  petitions  to  be  signed  in  behalf  of 
the  retention  of  the  Episcopacy  as  a  permanent 
legal  establishment,  which  in  turn  provoked  the  Bap- 
tists to  procure  counter  petitions.  The  efforts  of 
the  Baptists  resulted  in  procuring  the  names  of  ten 
thousand  persons  who  were  chiefly  freeholders. 

The  year  1776  marks  the  era  of  the  adoption  of 
the  Constitution  of  Virginia,  which  instrument  en- 
joys the  distinction  of  being  "  the  first  written  con- 
stitution for  a  free,  sovereign,  and  independent  State 
which  the  history  of  the  world  has  called  forth." 
The  constitution  was  prefaced  by  the  Bill  of  Rights, 
the  sixteenth  section  of  which,  as  written  by  George 
Mason,  provided  for  the  "  fullest  toleration."  But 
through  the  instrumentality  of  James  Madison,  the 
term  "  toleration "  was  stricken  out  and  all  men 
were  declared  equally  entitled  to  the  free  exercise  of 
religion.  The  famous  section  as  amended  by  Madi- 
son reads  as  follows  : 

That  religion,  or  the  duty  which  we  owe  to  our  Cre- 
ator and  the  manner  of  discharging  it,  can  be  directed 
only  by  reason  and  conviction,  not  by  force  or  violence, 
and  therefore  all  men  are  equally  entitled  to  the  free  ex- 
ercise of  religion  according  to  the  dictates  of  conscience  ; 
and  that  it  is  the  mutual  duty  of  all  to  practise  Christian 
forbearance,  love,  and  charity  toward  each  other. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Mr.   Madison  had 


SOUTHERN  BAPTISTS  AND  THE  REVOLUTION      89 

been  a  witness  to  the  wrongs  perpetrated  upon  Bap- 
tists under  the  guise  of  toleration,  and  was  therefore 
the  better  prepared  to  give  heed  to  the  formal  appli- 
cation of  that  people  to  expunge  a  "  term  intrinsi- 
cally fallacious  and  fraught  with  dangerous  impli- 
cations." 

Animated  by  the  victories  already  achieved,  the 
Baptists  now  took  fresh  courage  throughout  the 
State  of  Virginia.  Their  work  had  just  begun. 
They  became  more  aggressive.  Endurance  of  pro- 
tracted wrong  deepened  their  determination  to  break 
off  the  yoke  of  English  tyranny.  They  stimulated 
every  possible  agency  of  opposition  and  set  in  mo- 
tion a  strong  popular  current  which  was  pressing 
with  increasing  force  against  the  Establishment,  al- 
ready quaking  to  its  foundation.  Others  besides 
Baptists,  who  had  previously  held  themselves  some- 
what aloof  and  had  regarded  the  long  and  trying 
struggle  with  an  air  of  conventional  propriety,  now- 
joined  the  aggressive  party  against  the  Establish- 
ment. This  was  notably  true  of  the  Presbyterians, 
whose  privileges  had  greatly  exceeded  those  of  the 
Baptists.  The  Hanover  Presbytery  for  1776, 
while  entreating  equal  protection  for  all  sects,  asked 
to  be  exempt  from  the  payment  of  taxes  for  the 
support  of  any  church  further  than  might  be  agree- 
able to  their  choice  as  individuals  or  because  of  vol- 
untary obligations.^ 

The  year  1776  being  that  during  which  the  first 

^Foote,  "Sketches  of  Virginia,"  p.  324. 


90     HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

session  of  the  independent  legislative  assembly  con- 
vened, was  one  of  the  most  notable  periods  of  our 
denominational  history.  Anticipating  the  assembly 
of  the  legislature,  the  Baptists  were  active  for 
months  throughout  Virginia  circulating  petitions  for 
the  enrollment  of  the  names  of  those  who  favored 
the  extension  of  the  benefits  of  religious  liberty  to 
every  class  of  citizens.  When  the  General  Assembly 
met  in  its  initial  session  during  this  year,  it  found 
itself  overwhelmed  with  such  a  flood  of  petitions  as 
to  compel  the  most  serious  consideration.  This 
strong  array  of  petitioners  from  every  portion  of 
Virginia,  clearly  forecast  the  approaching  conflict. 
The  "  crowding  "  petitioners  were  referred  to  a  com- 
mittee of  seventeen,  of  which  Jeiferson  and  Madison 
were  members.  A  long  and  bitter  contest  followed, 
which  is  described  by  Jeiferson  in  his  autobiography 
as  "  the  severest  in  which  he  had  ever  engaged." 
He  further  says  :  "  After  desperate  contests  in  that 
committee  almost  daily  from  the  eleventh  of  Oc- 
tober to  the  fifth  of  December,  a  bill  was  brought 
in  repealing  the  laws  which  restrained  freedom  of 
religious  opinion  or  worship,  exempting  dissenters 
from  all  levies,  taxes,  and  impositions  whatever  for 
the  support  of  the  Established  Church."  This  was 
an  overAvhelming  victory — a  long  stride  toward 
absolute  freedom. 

But  gigantic  as  had  been  the  struggle,  and  well 
won  as  was  the  victory,  the  end  of  the  contest  was 
not  yet  reached.      Seeing  that  the  foundations  of 


SOUTHERN  BAPTISTS  AND  THE  REVOLUTION      91 

the  Establishment  were  being  gradually  sapped,  its 
friends  became  desperate  in  their  efforts  to  arrest  the 
tottering  fabric.  Consequently  they  succeeded  in 
securing  the  passage  of  a  declaration  to  the  eifect 
that  provision  ought  to  be  made  for  continuing  the 
succession  of  the  clergy  and  for  superintending  their 
conduct.'  There  was  in  the  bill  passed  an  "  express 
reservation  whether  a  general  assessment  should  not 
be  established  by  law,  on  every  one,  for  the  support 
of  the  pastor  of  his  choice ;  or  whether  all  should 
be  left  to  voluntary  contributions.'' 

Having  gained  so  much,  through  legislative  meas- 
ures, the  Baptists  were  willing  to  bide  their  time  for 
a  season,  persuaded  that  their  ultimate  object  would 
eventually  be  attained.  But  they  were  not  idle  as 
patriots  and  in  the  expression  of  loyalty  to  the  cause 
of  the  colonies.  Elder  McClanahan,  a  Baptist  min- 
ister from  Culpeper  County,  raised  a  company  of 
soldiers  for  the  Continental  service  mainly  from  the 
members  of  Baptist  churches.  While  he  led  them 
to  battle  as  their  captain,  he  ministered  to  their  spir- 
itual wants  as  their  chaplain.^  In  commenting  upon 
the  preaching  of  Elder  McClanahan,  in  connection 
with  his  service  as  captain  of  a  company  of  volun- 
teers, Howe  takes  occasion  to  remark  that  "  the 
Baptists  were  the  most  strenuous  supporters  of 
liberty."  ^  The  valuable  service  rendered  by  our 
ministry  to  the  cause  evoked  from  Washington  the 

1  Jefferson,  "Works,"  Vol.  I.,  p.  39. 
^Howe,  "  Virginia  Historical  Collections,"  p.  238.    ^  Ihid.,  p.  238. 


92      HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

declaration  that  "  Baptist  chaplains  were  among  the 
most  prominent  and  useful  in  the  army."  ^  Among 
those  who  shouldered  their  muskets  and  entered  the 
ranks  of  the  American  army  was  Rev.  David  Bar- 
row, one  of  the  most  eminent,  as  well  as  one  of  the 
most  useful,  of  the  Baptist  ministry  of  that  period. 
On  the  field  of  carnage  he  was  as  efficient  as  he  had 
been  in  his  peaceful  ministrations  at  home.^  Rev. 
Daniel  Marshall,  though  an  old  man,  was  unremit- 
ting in  his  patriotic  appeals  in  behalf  of  the  struggle 
for  independence,  notwithstanding  he  was  several 
times  warned  and  threatened  by  the  British  soldiery. 
So  persistent  was  he  in  denunciation  of  the  mother 
country,  that  he  was  at  last  arrested  and  placed 
under  strong  guard ;  but  having  obtained  leave  to 
speak,  he  so  overwhelmed  his  enemies  with  his  ex- 
hortations and  prayers,  that  they  promptly  set  him 
free. 

The  influence  by  the  Baptists  against  the  crown 
was  not  restricted  to  any  particular  portion  of  the 
country.  They  were  actuated  by  the  same  spirit 
throughout  the  entire  South.  The  province  of 
South  Carolina  was  among  the  first  to  give  expres- 
sion of  her  loyalty  to  the  provincial  congress.  She 
organized  the  "  Council  of  Safety,"  as  the  executive 
power  was  called,  composed  of  a  body  of  thirteen 
eminent  citizens.  One  of  the  chief  concerns  of  this 
Council  was,  by  public  speaking  to  bring  the  people 

1  "  Manning  and  Brown  University,"  p.  136. 
2  Semple,  p.  359. 


SOUTHEEN  BAPTISTS  AND  THE  REVOLUTION      93 

into  sympathy  with  the  revolutionary  movement  by 
conciliating  them  to  the  newly  formed  government, 
enlisting  their  support  of  it,  and  removing  their 
pre'judice  and  misapprehension.  From  the  begin- 
ning of  the  Revolution,  Rev.  Oliver  Hart  and  his 
church,  at  Charleston,  warmly  espoused  the  cause  of 
the  country.  By  reason  of  his  acquaintance  and  in- 
fluence in  the  back  country,  Mr.  Hart  was  chosen, 
together  with  Rev.  William  Tennent,  another  Bap- 
tist, and  Hon.  William  H.  Drayton,  to  arouse  the 
patriotism  of  the  Carolinians  in  behalf  of  the 
American  cause.^  Not  less  conspicuous  for  his  in- 
fluence and  patriotism  was  Rev.  Richard  Furman, 
Sr.,  D.  D.  Indeed  he  is  said  to  have  incurred  the 
wrath  of  Lord  Cornwallis  so  seriously  that  the 
British  commander  ofi'ered  a  considerable  sum  for 
his  apprehension.  According  to  Thomas  Jefferson 
two-thirds  of  the  inhabitants  of  Virginia  were  dis- 
senters when  the  Revolution  began ;  ^  these  were 
composed  almost  entirely  of  Baptists  and  Presby- 
terians. While  the  latter  had  a  number  of  eminent 
men,  the  number  of  their  communicants  was  small 
when  compared  with  those  of  the  Baptists.  This 
furnishes  an  indirect  indication  of  the  patriotism  of 
Baptists  during  the  great  struggle  for  freedom. 

With  1777  came  a  renewal  of  the  determination 
on  the  part  of  the  Baptists  of  Virginia  to  separate 
Church  and  State.     Having  that  end  in  view,  the 

1  Sprague,  "  Annals  of  the  American  Baptist  Pulpit,"  pp.  48,  49. 
^Jefferson,  "  On  the  State  of  Virginia,"  p.  169. 


94      HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

General  Association  of  Virginia  at  its  session  in 
1777  appointed  a  committee  to  ascertain  and  report 
to  that  body  whether  there  were  existing  in  the 
Commonwealth  any  oppressive  or  ecclesiastical  laws. 
The  result  of  this  action  was  an  elaborate  report 
setting  forth  the  fact  that  quite  a  number  of  laws 
which  seriously  interfered  with  the  exercise  of  re- 
ligious liberty  were  still  prevailing.  This  report 
gave  rise  to  a  formal  and  respectful  address  to  the 
legislature  by  the  General  Association,  calling  atten- 
tion to  these  oppressive  and  obnoxious  laws,  and 
with  the  transmission  of  the  address  was  another 
inundation  of  petitions  from  the  Baptists  and  Pres- 
byterians protesting  most  vehemently  against  the 
maintenance  of  a  State  Church.  Against  these 
were  arrayed  the  petitions  from  the  Episcopalians 
and  Methodists,  as  the  latter  at  that  period  co- 
operated with  the  Establishment.  The  presentation 
of  these  conflicting  documents  before  the  lawmakers 
of  Virginia  occasioned  no  little  interest.  Out  of 
this  came  a  law  suspending  the  collection  of  taxes 
for  the  support  of  religious  teachers.^  While  this 
gave  additional  elation  to  the  Baptists,  it  served  to 
embolden  them  for  future  aggression. 

Two  meetings  of  the  General  Association  were 
iield  during  the  year  1778.  Encouraged  by  what 
had  been  accomplished  at  previous  sessions,  a  com- 
mittee on  "  civil  grievances  "  was  again  raised,  re- 
sulting in  the  submission  of  a  report  remonstrating 
1  Hawks,  Vol  I.,  p.  139. 


SOUTHERN  BAPTISTS  AND  THE  REVOLUTION      95 

most  stoutly  against  a  general  assessment  for  the 
support  of  all  denominations- — a  conciliatory  meas- 
ure which  had  been  set  on  foot  by  the  supporters  of 
the  Establishment  to  prevent  the  total  wreck  of  that 
fated  institution.  The  report  also  strongly  inveighed 
against  the  law  granting  to  Episcopal  clergymen  the 
exclusive  right,  under  the  penalty  of  illegitimacy  of 
issue,  to  perform  the  marriage  ceremony.  These 
solemn  protests  took  the  same  course  as  those  of  the 
year  before — they  were  transmitted  to  the  legisla- 
ture by  means  of  a  most  competent  committee.  It 
seems  that  the  most  that  M'as  accomplished  by  this 
Baptist  delegation  was  favorable  prospective  action 
on  the  part  of  the  legislature ;  for  at  the  session  of 
the  General  Association  the  following  year,  the 
draft  of  a  bill  establishing  religious  freedom  was 
placed  before  the  members  of  the  General  Associ- 
ation and  it  was  generally  approved.  Here  as 
before  commissioners  were  appointed  to  visit  the 
legislature,  urging  that  body  to  legalize  the  mar- 
riages which,  under  the  advice  of  Patrick  Henry, 
dissenting;  ministers  had  celebrated.  The  result  of 
this  persistent  activity  of  the  Baptists  was  the 
enactment  of  a  law  repealing  all  laws  authorizing 
the  collection  of  taxes  for  the  support  of  the  clergy, 
Jefferson's  estimate  of  this  action  was  that  "the 
Establishment  of  the  Anglican  Church  was  entirely 
put  down."  This  was  the  result  of  an  intense 
struggle  on  the  part  of  the  Baptists,  which  was  pro- 
longed through  three  years. 


96      HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

Some  of  those  who  entered  into  co-operation 
with  the  Baptists  when  the  issue  was  first  joined, 
forsook  tliem  when  the  matter  of  general  assessment 
was  forced  into  the  struggle.  Dr.  Hawks,  the 
Episcopal  church  historian,  sums  up  the  struggle 
thus : 

In  each  successive  meeting  of  the  Legislature  from 
1776  to  1779,  this  quxstio  vexata  was  brought  up  for  dis- 
cussion. .  .  In  1779,  all  things  being  ready  for  a  final 
vote,  the  question  was  settled  against  the  system  of  a 
general  assessment,  and  the  Establishment  was  finally 
put  down.  The  Baptists  were  the  principal  promoters 
of  this  work  and,  in  truth,  aided  more  than  any  other 
denomination  in  its  accomplishment.  Their  historian 
boasts  that  they  alone  were  uniform  in  their  eff"orts  to 
destroy  the  system  of  an  assessment  and  to  introduce 
the  plan  of  a  voluntary  contribution.  Whether  this  be 
so  or  not,  it  is  very  certain  that  in  the  Associations  of 
that  sect,  held  from  year  to  year,  a  prominent  subject 
of  discussion  always  was  as  to  the  best  modes  of  carrying 
on  war  against  the  Establishment. 

The  year  following  that  of  the  overthrow  of  the 
Establishment,  the  enactment  of  a  law  legalizing 
marriage  by  dissenting  ministers  was  procured.  As 
has  been  suggested,  Patrick  Henry  urged  Baptist 
ministers  to  disregard  the  law  in  the  celebration  of 
the  marriage  ceremony  with  the  expressed  opinion 
that  this  was  the  speediest  method  of  sweeping  it 
from  the  statute  books — and  it  proved  true.  It  is 
a  remarkable  fact,  however,  that  four  years  after  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  oppressive  laws  were 


SOUTHERN  BAPTISTS  AND  THE  REVOLUTION      97 

existing  upon  the  pages  of  the  colonial,  or  State, 
statute  books. 

We  have  now  reached  a  period  (1780-81)  when 
the  South  was  overrun    by  British    troops.       The 
theatre  of  war  in  the  Southern  provinces  was  Vir- 
ginia and  South  Carolina.     The  well-known  loyalty 
of  Baptist  preachers  to  the  cause  of  freedom  made 
them  conspicuous  objects  of  vengeance  to  the  British 
commanders,  and  for  some  of  these  ministers  hand- 
some rewards  were  offered  by  the  royal  generals. 
Baptist  churches  too  were  desecrated  by  being  trans- 
formed into  storage  houses,  temporary  magazines, 
and  field  hospitals.     Special  delight  seems  to  have 
characterized  the  seizure  of  these  temples  of  worship 
and  the  reduction  of  them  to  hostile  service.     How- 
ever, this  ceases  to  be  a  matter  of  surprise  when  it  is 
borne  in  mind  that  Baptists  were  the  most  ardent  of 
dissenters  and  the  most  belligerent  of  patriots.     In 
Virginia  and  the  Carolinas,  during  the  two  years, 
1780-81,    the    greatest    demoralization    prevailed 
among  Baptist  churches.     Pastors  were  driven  from 
their  stations,  flying  sometimes  for  their  lives,  while 
many  of  them  entered  the    army  as    chaplains  or 
commanders;    and   congregations  were  broken  up 
and    scattered    in    every  possible   direction.       The 
-Revolution  was  the  occasion  of  the  early  occupation 
by  Baptists  of  regions  westward.     This  movement 
preceded  the  opening  of  the  Eevolution,  because  of 
the  exactions  of  the  crown  officers,  and  continued 
throughout  the  years  of  the  gigantic  struggle. 


98      HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

As  we  have  seen,  the  utmost  consistency  was 
maintained  by  the  Baptists  of  the  South  during 
the  Revolutionary  War.  The  struggle  itself  was 
only  a  more  emphatic  and  sanguinary  expression  of 
the  protests  which  had  been  made  for  a  long  period 
prior  to  the  clash  of  arms.  Throughout  the  years 
of  the  war  Baptists  were  equally  conspicuous  in 
pressing  the  claims  of  liberty  before  legislative  as- 
semblies and  in  resisting  the  invasions  of  the  royal 
armies.  Speaking  of  the  aggressive  spirit  of  the 
Baptists  in  Virginia  during  this  stormy  period,  Dr. 
Hawks,  the  learned  Episcopal  historian,  says  of 
them :  "  After  their  final  success  in  the  matter  of 
voluntary  contribution,  their  next  efforts  were  to 
procure  a  sale  of  the  church  lands,  and  their  efforts 
never  ceased  until  the  glebe  lands  were  sold."  ^ 

The  Baptist  General  Association  of  Virginia  was 
most  unremitting  in  its  efforts  to  snap  the  last  bond 
that  united  Church  and  State.  During  both  ses- 
sions, held  in  the  years  1782  and  1783,  committees 
on  "  Civil  Grievances  "  were  appointed  and  the  two 
items,  still  dear  to  the  Establishment — the  retention 
of  glebe  lands  and  the  popular  assessment  for  the 
support  of  ministers  of  all  denominations — were 
made  themes  of  firm  remonstrance.  The  usual 
committee  was  appointed  to  wait  upon  the  legisla- 
ture, but  these  measures  were,  for  the  time  being, 
disregarded  in  view  of  the  pressing  demands  of  the 
political  necessities  of  the  time.  In  1783  the  Gen- 
1  Hawks,  Vol.  I.,  p.  53. 


SOUTHERN  BAPTISTS  AND  THE  REVOLUTION      99 

eral  Association  entrusted  the  matter  of  the  direc- 
tion of  grievances  to  a  General  Committee  composed 
of  not  more  than  four  delegates  from  each  district 
Association.  This  committee  in  1784  renewed  with 
vigor  its  protests  before  the  legislature,  arraigning 
before  that  body  the  proposed  laws  for  general  as- 
sessment, and  the  incorporation  of  religious  societies, 
the  vestry,  and  the  marriage  laws.  A  commissioner 
was  deputed  to  bear  the  memorials  of  this  committee 
to  the  legislature.  This  year,  the  General  Assem- 
bly went  so  far  as  to  pass  a  law  authorizing  all  min- 
isters to  officiate  at  marriages.^ 

At  the  preceding  session  of  the  General  Assem- 
bly, in  1783,  action  upon  the  general  assessment  bill 
was  postponed  in  order  that  an  expression  from  the 
people  might  be  had.  This  served  to  elicit  the  full 
strength  and  influence  of  the  Baptist  denomination 
in  Virginia.  It  was  fully  realized  Avhat  was  in- 
volved in  this  popular  expression  and  Baptist  influ- 
ence was  strained  to  its  utmost  tension.  Under  the 
direction  and  management  of  the  General  Commit- 
tee, the  people  in  the  different  counties  were  urged 
to  prepare  petitions  against  the  proposed  assessment 
as  being  repugnant  to  the  spirit  of  the  gospel  and 
the  freedom  of  religion.  The  text  of  the  resolution 
upon  which  such  action  was  based,  in  Virginia,  read 
as  follows  : 

Resolved,  That  it  be  recommended  to  those  counties 
which  have  not  yet  prepared  petitions  to  be  presented  to 

iSemple,  pp.  34,69,  70. 


100  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

the  General  Assembly  against  the  engrossed  bill  for  a 
general  assessment  for  the  support  of  the  teachers  of  the 
Christian  religion  to  proceed  thereon  as  soon  as  possible  ; 
that  it  is  believed  to  be  repugnant  to  the  spii'it  of  the 
gospel  for  the  legislature  thus  to  proceed  in  matters  of 
religion  ;  that  the  holy  author  of  our  religion  needs  no 
such  compulsive  measures  for  the  promotion  of  his 
cause  ;  that  the  gospel  wants  not  the  feeble  arm  of  man 
for  its  support ;  that  it  has  made,  and  will  again, 
through  divine  power,  make  its  way  against  all  opposi- 
tion ;  that  should  the  legislature  assume  the  right  of 
taxing  the  people  for  the  support  of  the  gospel,  it  will 
be  destructive  of  religious  liberty. 

The  contest  had  been  so  ingeniously  narrowed 
down  by  the  opponents  of  the  dissenters  as  to 
restrict  the  aggression  almost  entirely  to  the  Bap- 
tists, w^ho  never  stood  more  alone  than  now  while 
they  strove  to  defeat  these  adroit  measures.  Up  to 
this  time,  the  Baptists  had  been  able  to  rely  upon 
the  friendly  co-operation  of  the  Presbyterians,  but 
that  communion  was  now  divided.  There  were  then 
arrayed  against  the  Baptists,  the  Episcopalians,  the 
Methodists,  and  a  goodly  portion  of  the  Presby- 
terians. The  specious  and  insiduous  pretext  of  the 
opposition  was  that  an  assessment  of  the  people 
should  be  made  to  provide  a  remedy  for  the  alleged 
decay  of  morals  and  the  general  decline  of  religion. 

The  issue  was  squarely  joined  when  a  petition 
from  the  Isle  of  Wight  County  appeared  before  the 
legislature  praying  that  every  one  be  compelled  to 
contribute  of  his  substance  for  the  support  of  relig- 


SOUTHERN  BAPTISTS  AND  THE  REVOLUTION   101 

ion.  Fortunately  for  the  Baptists,  they  enjoyed  the 
co-operation  of  such  eminent  representatives  as 
James  Madison,  George  Mason,  and  Thomas  Jefi'er- 
son.  But  they  were  in  turn  opposed  by  such 
patriots  as  Patrick  Henry,  George  Washington, 
Richard  Henry  Lee,  and  John  Marshall.  The 
general  assessment  bill  was  championed  by  Patrick 
Henry,  who  was  pitted  against  James  Madison,  who 
appeared  as  the  leader  of  the  opposition  to  that  ob- 
noxious measure.  It  was  a  struggle  of  giants.  The 
discussion  was  vigorous  and  vehement.  For  a  time, 
it  seemed  that  the  battle  was  lost  to  the  Baptists. 
When  the  bill  was  ordered  read  the  third  time,  that 
it  might  be  put  upon  its  passage,  its  advocates  were 
confident.  There  was  no  hope  left  save  in  delay. 
Rallying  the  opposition  to  the  measure,  its  managers 
succeeded  in  having  action  postponed  to  another 
session.  This  led  to  a  representation  of  the  matter 
to  the  masses  of  the  people.  Mr.  Madison  was 
foremost  in  calling  popular  attention  to  the  subject 
in  an  admirable  paper  which  was  known  as  the 
"  Memorial  and  Remonstrance,"  which  was  exten- 
sively circulated  and  read  by  thousands.  Mean- 
while the  advocates  of  assessment  were  by  no 
means  idle,  for  they  circulated  twenty-four  copies  of 
the  bill  in  each  county  in  the  commonwealth.  Upon 
the  reassembling  of  the  legislature  in  October,  1785, 
the  great  table  in  the  Assembly  hall  almost  sank 
under  the  weight  of  the  petitions  and  remonstrances 
against  the   general  assessment    measure.      Public 


102  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

protests  were  so  overwhelming  that  the  advocates  of 
the  measure  surrendered  without  further  struggle. 
Baptists  had  finally  won. 

As  the  friend  of  soul-liberty,  Jefferson  seized 
upon  the  opportunity  which  was  now  presented  for 
the  submission  of  the  following  bill  looking  to  the 
establishment  of  religious  freedom.  This  was 
adopted  December  16,  1785,  and  is  still  the  funda- 
mental law  of  Virginia  : 

AN   ACT   TO   ESTABLISH    RELIGIOUS   FREEDOM. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  General  Assembly,  That  no  man 
shall  be  compelled  to  frequent  or  support  any  religious 
worship,  place,  or  ministry  whatsoever,  nor  shall  he  be 
enforced,  restrained,  molested,  or  burthened  in  his  body 
or  goods,  nor  shall  otherwise  suffer  on  account  of  his  re- 
ligious opinions  or  belief ;  but  that  all  men  shall  be  free 
to  profess,  and  by  argument  to  maintain,  their  opinions 
in  matters  of  religion,  and  that  the  same  shall,  in  no 
wise,  diminish,  enlarge,  or  affect  their  civil  capacities. 

There  was  not  the  slightest  relaxation  of  effort  on 
the  part  of  the  Baptists  to  wipe  out  the  remaining 
traces  of  oppression  and  to  thwart  their  enemies  in 
efforts  to  procure  such  legislation  as  would  entrench 
them  in  ecclesiastical  supremacy.  The  General 
Committee  now  turned  its  attention  to  the  opposition 
of  the  measure  looking  to  the  incorporation  of  the 
Episcopal  society.  At  the  meeting  of  this  commit- 
tee held  in  1786,  it  was  resolved, 

That  petitions  ought  to  be  drawn  and  circulated  in  the 
different  counties  and  presented  to  the  next  General  As- 


SOUTHERN  BAPTISTS  AND  THE  REVOLUTION  103 

sembly,  praying  for  a  repeal  of  the  Incorporating  Act, 
and  that  the  public  property  which  is  by  that  act  vested 
in  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  be  sold,  and  the 
money  applied  to  public  use,  and  that  Reuben  Ford  and 
John  Leland  attend  the  next  Assembly  as  agents  in 
behalf  of  the  General  Committee. 

In  this  step  the  Presbyterians  rejoined  the  Bap- 
tists, insisting  that  the  act  be  repealed  and  the 
property  distributed.  In  opposition  to  this  pro- 
nounced expression,  the  Episcopal  Convention 
recommended  to  the  parishes  throughout  the  State 
that  petitions  be  prepared  and  presented  offsetting 
the  memorials  of  the  Baptists  and  Presbyterians,  but 
to  no  purpose;  for  on  January  9,  1787,  the  law- 
was  repealed.  The  w^ork  to  which  the  Baptists  had 
applied  themselves  so  assiduously  for  a  long  period 
was  now^  almost  completed,  there  being  but  one  re- 
maining element  of  the  original  Establishment 
which  demanded  their  attention,  and  that  was  the 
settlement  of  the  glebe  land  question.  Passing 
judgment  upon  this,  the  General  Committee  decided 
that  the  glebe  lands  were  the  property  of  the  people 
— rightly  belonged  to  the  public — because  bought 
with  money  collected  by  taxes  from  the  people  gen- 
erally. With  this  w^as  coupled  a  solemn  protest 
against  its  exclusive  use  by  the  minister  of  the 
parish  in  which  the  lands  were  located.  This  ques- 
tion had  to  be  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  public 
in  such  way  as  to  enable  intelligent  action  to  be 
taken. 


104  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

Baptists  were  as  industrious  in  the  urgent  prose- 
cution of  the  claims  of  this  question  as  they  had 
been  with  every  other.  In  1799  their  efforts  were 
rewarded  by  the  passage  of  an  act  recognizing  the 
principle  that  all  property  belonging  to  the  Episco- 
pal Church  devolved  on  the  good  people  of  the 
commonwealth.  This  was  followed  by  an  act  in 
1802  ordering  the  sale  of  the  glebes.  In  a  sum- 
mary of  these  events,  Dr.  Hawks  says : 

Persecution  had  taught  the  Baptists  not  to  love  the 
Establishment.  In  their  Association  they  had  calmly 
discussed  the  matter,  and  resolved  on  their  course.  In 
this  course,  they  were  consistent  to  the  end  ;  and  the 
war  which  they  waged  against  the  church  was  a  war  of 
extermination.  They  seem  to  have  known  no  relentings, 
and  their  hostility  never  ceased  for  twenty-seven  years.  ^ 

When  the  struggle  began,  there  Avas  little  or  no  en- 
couragement to  prosecute  the  work  dear  to  the  Bap- 
tists of  the  South.  Almost  hoping  against  hope  be- 
cause of  the  formidable  odds  opposing  them,  the  Bap- 
tists steadfastly  pursued  their  claims,  holding  every 
inch  of  ground  gained,  and  gathering  new  boldness 
with  each  advantage,  until  there  was  a  complete 
severance  of  Church  and  State.  They  were  equally 
active  in  the  field  and  in  the  legislative  chamber 
for  the  consummation  of  the  single  purpose  of  se- 
curing to  the  new  republic  the  fullest  freedom.  The 
ratification  of  the  Federal  Constitution  by  the  Vir- 
ginia Convention  was  largely  due  to  the  exertion 
1  Hawks,  Vol.  I.,  pp.  137, 138. 


SOUTHERN  BAPTISTS  AND  THE  REVOLUTION   105 

and  self-sacrifice  of  a  Baptist  minister,  John  Le- 
land.  Mr.  Madison  being  absent  from  the  State  on 
public  business  at  the  time  when  a  representative 
was  to  be  chosen,  Leland  was  agreed  upon  as  a  can- 
didate for  the  position  which  would  have  been  occu- 
pied by  Madison  in  the  Convention  of  1788,  which 
convention  was  to  ratify  or  reject  the  national  con- 
stitution. Upon  his  return  to  Virginia,  Madison 
visited  Leland  and  spent  some  time  with  him, 
which  resulted  in  the  withdrawal  of  the  latter 
from  the  race  in  favor  of  the  former.  Mr.  Madi- 
son's presence  in  the  convention  was  most  oppor- 
tune, as  it  is  quite  sure  that  the  ratification  of  the 
constitution  was  due  to  that  fact.  The  new  consti- 
tution encountered  the  opposition  of  Patrick  Henry 
who  thought  it  "  squinted  toward  monarchy."  By 
reason  of  his  personal  popularity  and  splendid  ora- 
tory he  carried  the  people  with  him,  and  would 
have  defeated  ratification  but  for  the  influence  of 
Madison.  Commenting  upon  this,  Senator  John  S. 
Barbour,  of  Virginia,  asserts  : 

That  the  credit  of  adopting  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  properly  belongs  to  a  Baptist  clergyman, 
formerly  of  Virginia,  named  Leland.  If  Madison  had 
not  been  in  the  Virginia  Convention,  the  constitution 
would  not  have  been  ratified,  and  as  the  approval  of 
nine  States  was  necessary  to  give  effect  to  this  instru- 
ment, and  as  Virginia  was  the  ninth  State,  if  it  had 
been  rejected  by  her,  the  constitution  would  have  failed 
(the  remaining  States  following  her  example),  and  it  was 
through  Elder  Leland' s  influence  that  Mr.  Madison  was 


106  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

elected  to  that  Convention.  It  is  unquestionable  that 
Mr.  Madison  was  elected  through  the  efforts  and  resig- 
nation of  John  Leland,  and  it  is  all  but  certain  that 
that  act  gave  our  country  its  famous  constitution. ' 

The  national  Constitution,  while  generally  accept- 
able, was  not  faultless.  Naturally  enough  it  was 
most  rigidly  examined  by  those  who  had  struggled 
so  long  and  sacrificed  so  much  for  the  young  nation 
just  now  in  its  swaddling  clothes.  At  the  session  of 
the  General  Association  of  Virginia  in  1788,  the 
General  Committee  had  submitted  for  consideration 
the  question,  "  Whether  the  new  Federal  Constitu- 
tion, which  had  now  lately  made  its  appearance  in 
public,  made  sufficient  provision  for  the  secure  enjoy- 
ment of  religious  liberty  ?  '* 

A  unanimous  opinion  was  reached  by  the  commit- 
tee that  it  did  not.  This  occurred  three  months  pre- 
viously to  its  ratification  by  the  State  Convention, 
in  doing  which  that  body  made  certain  reservations 
among  which  was  that  the  liberty  or  right  of  no  de- 
nomination can  be  abridged  by  the  government. 
Certain  essential  rights,  among  which  was  that  of 
liberty  of  conscience,  cannot  be  abridged,  restrained, 
or  modified.  That  there  might  be  no  doubt  attend- 
ant upon  the  action  of  the  Virginia  Convention,  the 
General  Committee  held  a  consultation  with  Mr. 
Madison  as  to  future  action,  and  afterAvard  addressed 
a  communication  to  President  Washington  on  the 
same  subject.  After  reference  to  their  struggles  for 
^Sprague,  "  Annals  of  the  American  Baptist  Pulpit,"  p.  179. 


SOUTHERN  BAPTISTS  AND  THE  REVOLUTION   107 

religious  freedom,  and  after  respectful  allusion  to 
the  part  taken  by  Washington  in  the  contest,  the 
Committee  said  : 

The  want  of  efficacy  in  the  confederation,  the  re- 
dundancy of  laws  and  their  partial  administration  in 
the  States,  called  aloud  for  a  new  arrangement  of  our 
systems.  The  wisdom  of  the  States  for  that  purpose 
was  collected  in  a  grand  convention,  over  which  you, 
sir,  had  the  honor  to  preside.  A  national  government 
in  all  its  parts  was  recommended  as  the  only  preserva- 
tion of  the  Union,  which  plan  of  government  is  now  in 
actual  operation. 

When  the  Constitution  first  made  its  appearance  in 
Virginia  we,  as  a  Society,  had  unusual  strugglings  of 
mind,  fearing  that  the  liberty  of  conscience  (dearer  to 
us  than  property  and  life)  was  not  sufficiently  secured  ; 
perhaps  our  jealousies  were  heightened  on  account  of 
the  usage  we  received  in  Virginia  under  the  British 
government  when  mobs,  bonds,  fines,  and  prisons  were 
our  frequent  repast. 

Convinced  on  the  one  hand  that  without  an  effective 
national  government  the  States  would  fall  into  disunion 
and  all  the  consequent  evils  ;  on  the  other  hand,  it  was 
feared  we  might  be  accessory  to  some  religious  oppres- 
sion should  any  one  Society  in  the  union  preponderate 
all  the  rest.  But  amidst  all  the  inquietudes  of  mind 
our  consolation  arose  from  this  consideration,  the  plan 
must  be  good,  for  it  bears  the  signature  of  a  tried,  trusty 
friend  ;  and  if  religious  liberty  is  rather  insecure  in  the 
Constitution,  "the  administration  will  prevent  all  op- 
pression, for  a  Washington  will  preside."  According  to 
our  wishes  the  unanimus  voice  of  the  Union  has  called 
you,  sir,  from  your  beloved  reti'eat  to  launch  forth  again 
into  the  faithless  seas  of  human   affairs  to  guide  the 


108  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

helm  of  the  States.  Should  the  horrid  evils  that  have 
been  so  pestiferous  in  Asia  and  Europe — faction,  ambi- 
tion, war,  perfidy,  fraud,  and  persecutions  for  conscience' 
sake — ever  approach  the  borders  of  our  happy  nation, 
may  the  name  and  administration  of  our  beloved  Presi- 
dent, like  the  radiant  source  of  day,  scatter  all  those 
dark  clouds  from  the  American  hemisphere. 

This  letter  to  Washington  was  the  wise  and 
timely  product  of  John  Leland,  a  man  of  fertile 
resource,  calm  judgment,  courageous  disposition, 
and  of  ripe  piety. 

In  reply  to  the  letter,  of  which  the  foregoing  is 
an  extract.  President  Washington  wrote  : 

If  I  could  have  entertained  the  slightest  apprehension 
that  the  Constitution  framed  by  the  convention  where  I 
had  the  honor  to  preside  might  possibly  endanger  the 
religious  rights  of  any  ecclesiastical  society,  certainly  I 
would  never  have  placed  my  signature  to  it ;  and  if  I 
could  now  conceive  that  the  general  government  might 
ever  be  so  administered  as  to  render  the  liberty  of  con- 
science insecure,  I  beg  you  will  be  persuaded  that  no 
one  would  be  more  zealous  than  myself  to  establish  ef- 
fectual barriers  against  the  horrors  of  spiritual  tyranny 
and  every  species  of  religious  persecution.  Tor  you 
doubtless  remember  I  have  often  expressed  my  senti- 
ments that  any  man  conducting  himself  as  a  good  citi- 
zen, and  being  accountable  to  God  alone  for  his  religious 
opinions,  ought  to  be  protected  in  worshiping  the  Deity 
according  to  the  dictates  of  his  own  conscience. 

While  I  recollect  with  satisfaction  that  the  religious 
Society  of  which  you  are  members  have  been  through- 
out America  uniformly  and  almost  unanimously  the 
firm  friends   to  civil  liberty  and   the   persevering  pro- 


SOUTHERN  BAPTISTS  AND  THE  REVOLUTION  109 

meters  of  our  glorious  revolution,  I  cannot  hesitate  to 
believe  that  they  will  be  faithful  supporters  of  a  free  yet 
efficient  general  government.  Under  this  pleasing  ex- 
pectation I  rejoice  to  assure  them  that  they  may  rely 
upon  my  best  wishes  and  endeavors  to  advance  their 
prosperity.  In  the  meantime  be  assured,  gentlemen, 
that  I  entertain  a  proper  sense  of  your  fervent  supplica- 
tion to  God  for  my  temporal  and  eternal  happiness. 
I  am,  gentlemen. 

Your  most  obedient  servant, 

George  Washington. 

The  outcome  of  this  correspoudence  was  the 
submission  by  James  Madison,  in  the  House  of 
Representatives,  of  the  first  amendment  to  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States.  Although  it  en- 
countered strong  opposition  at  first,  it  was  finally 
passed  by  the  House  and  afterward  approved  by 
two-thirds  of  the  States  and  became  a  law.  The 
Baptists  have  all  along  insisted  that  the  credit  of 
this  amendment  belongs  to  them.  It  was  for  this 
that  the  appeal  was  made  to  Washington,  who 
promptly  recognized  the  wisdom  of  it.  The  request 
commended  itself  to  the  judgment  of  Madison  also, 
and  gave  to  him  an  additional  opportunity  to  endear 
himself  to  the  Baptists  of  the  South  by  submitting 
the  amendment  and  securing  its  passage. 

The  adoption  of  the  first  amendment  to  the  Con- 
stitution should  have  ended  the  struggle ;  but  it 
was  not  until  1798  that  all  the  barriers  were  swept 
away  and  dissenters  were  admitted  to  equal  priv- 
ileges with  the  Episcopalians  of  America. 


CHAPTER  IV 

DENOMINATIONAL   EXPANSION 

IN  1770  the  Baptists  of  the  South  were,  in  point 
of  numbers,  quite  a  weak  folk.  At  that  period 
there  were  but  few  church  organizations  in  the 
States  now  covered  by  the  territory  of  the  South. 
While  a  few  of  these  were  strong,  relatively  speak- 
ing, the  most  of  them  were  feeble.  Of  the  seventy 
Baptist  churches  reported  for  1770,  according  to  a 
recent  author,^  only  seven  were  accounted  as  existing 
in  the  South.  There  were,  however,  known  to  be 
more  than  that.  Still  there  were  perhaps  not  so 
many  as  ten  thousand  Baptists  in  the  United  States 
when  the  Revolution  began.  The  eifect  of  that 
great  struggle  was  to  disperse  the  Baptist  churches 
of  the  Southern  provinces.  Baptists  were  intensely 
enlisted  in  the  cause  of  freedom,  and  almost  none 
of  the  churches  observed  stated  seasons  of  worship. 
For  the  most  part,  the  pastors  were  enlisted  as  chap- 
lains, or  as  soldiers  in  the  ranks. 

After  the  close  of  the  war,  however,  there  was  a 
speedy  reaction.  Differences  were  forgotten  in  the 
single  aim  to   unify  the  denomination   in  order  to 

iH.  K.  Carroll,  ll.d.,  in  "The  Religious  Forces  of  the  United 
States,"  p.  25. 
110 


DENOMINATIONAL,    EXPANSION  111 

give  a  lasting  effect  to  the  achievements  wrought. 
The  sufferings  and  struggles  which  all  had  under- 
gone in  common,  served  to  weld  them  the  more 
easily  after  the  gigantic  contest  had  closed.  This 
was  illustrated  by  the  easy  fusion  of  the  "  Separate  " 
and  "Regular"  Baptists  of  Virginia  in  1787. 
This  was  the  signal  for  union  throughout  the  prov- 
inces, so  that  within  a  few  years  after  the  fusion  in 
Virginia  the  denomination  presented  a  united  front. 
This  spirit  of  unity  which,  in  turn,  was  the  result  of 
that  singleness  of  aim  for  the  princijjle  for  which 
the  Baptists  of  the  South  in  common  suffered  and 
contended,  was  the  fountain  source  of  the  denomi- 
national expansion  with  which  the  period  following 
the  Revolution  was  signalized.  A  grateful  senti- 
ment everywhere  prevailed  because  of  the  achieve- 
ment of  liberty.  Places  of  worship  which  had 
long  been  desecrated  by  the  vile  uses  to  which  they 
were  subjected  by  the  enemy,  were  venerated  more 
than  ever  before.  Meeting-houses  were  rebuilt 
where  they  had  been  demolished,  repaired  where 
they  had  been  damaged  ;  and  congregations  gathered 
again  with  alacrity  and  gratitude,  and  resumed, 
without  fear  of  interruption,  the  worship  of  God. 
Only  the  sufferers  from  persecution  could  realize 
how  precious  was  the  boon  of  freedom,  and  it  is  but 
natural  that  these  people  should  be  frequently  found 
at  their  places  of  worship. 

The  beneficent  reaction  from  the  turbulent  period 
of  the  Revolution  was  favorable  to  the  production 


112  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

of  the  grateful  feelings  which  prevailed  universally 
among  the  Baptists  of  the  South.  This  sponta- 
neous spirit  which  dictated  an  equally  spontaneous 
worship,  was  the  starting  point  of  the  phenomenal 
growth  which  characterized  the  denomination  during 
the  subsequent  periods  throughout  the  Southern 
States. 

From  this  prevalent  condition  of  the  Baptist 
churches  inevitably  sprang  a  revival  which  not  only 
greatly  augmented  the  membership  of  the  churches 
already  existing,  but  rapidly  multiplied  the  number 
of  churches  themselves.  It  seems  that  as  early  as 
1784  there  were  in  Virginia  alone  one  hundred  and 
fifty-one  churches  and  fourteen  thousand  nine  hun- 
dred and  sixty  members,  and  eight  years  later  the 
number  of  churches  had  increased  to  two  hundred 
and  eighteen,  with  a  membership  of  twenty  thou- 
sand four  hundred  and  forty-three.  The  revival 
wave  swept  into  the  opening  years  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  so  that  in  1810-12  we  find  Virginia  with 
two  hundred  and  ninety-two  churches  and  thirty-five 
thousand  six  hundred  and  sixty-five  members. 
These  numbers  are  furnished  as  to  the  resident 
membership  of  Virginia  Baptist  churches,  although 
Semple  estimates  that  between  1791  and  1810  fully 
one-fourth  of  the  Baptists  of  Virginia  removed  to 
Kentucky.  Notwithstanding  that  the  Revolutionary 
period  found  the  Baptists  of  the  North  far  out- 
numbering those  of  the  South,  in  1814  there  were 
nearly    twice    as    many    members    in    the    Baptist 


DENOMINATIONAL    EXPANSION  113 

churches  of  Virginia  as  in  those  of  New  York,  and 
there  were  many  more  in  Virginia  than  there  were 
in  all  the  New  England  States  together. 

The  same  spirit  of  revivalism  extended  into 
North  Carolina  ;  but  it  was  not  until  1800  that  the 
most  memorable  revival  in  the  annals  of  that  State 
occurred.  James  McGready,  a  Scotch-Irish  Pres- 
byterian preacher,  began  a  revival  in  North  Caro- 
lina in  the  first  years  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
which  shook  the  State  to  its  center,  and  which  was 
soon  felt  in  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  and  Ohio.  The 
return  of  peace  had  brought  to  most  of  the  Carolina 
churches  many  demoralizing  practices  which  re- 
quired sturdy  heroism  to  attack  and  expose.  From 
the  labors  of  this  wonderful  man,  the  Baptists  de- 
rived immense  increase  to  the  membership  of  their 
churches  throughout  North  Carolina. 

Attention  has  already  been  called  to  the  organi- 
zation of  the  earliest  churches  in  North  Carolina, 
among  which  there  were  many  struggling  interests. 
In  1784  we  find  in  the  State  forty-two  churches, 
with  a  membership  of  three  thousand  two  hundred 
and  seventy-six;  eight  years  later,  in  1792,  the 
number  of  churches  had  increased  to  ninety-four 
and  the  membership  to  seven  thousand  five  hun- 
dred and  three.  The  results  of  the  McGready  re- 
vival are  manifest  in  the  figures  furnished  for  1812, 
for  then  we  find  two  hundred  and  four  churches  in 
the  State,  with  a  membership  of  twelve  thousand 
five  hundred  and  sixty-seven.     As  the  churches  of 


114  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

Kentucky  were  recruited  from  those  of  Virginia,  so 
the  churches  of  Tennessee  derived  their  strength 
from  those  of  North  Carolina. 

Some  of  the  churches  of  South  Carolina  were 
almost  extinguished  by  the  Revolution.  The  part 
borne  in  the  great  struggle  by  the  leader  of  the 
South  Carolina  Baptists,  Oliver  Hart,  in  arousing 
the  patriotism  of  the  colonists  and  in  inciting  them 
against  the  royal  forces,  so  aroused  the  wrath  of  the 
British  commanders  that  on  the  approach  of  their 
armies  to  Charleston,  Pastor  Hart  was  advised  by 
his  friends  to  seek  a  safe  retreat.  He  made  his  way 
northward  to  Hopewell,  New  Jersey,  and  never 
again  returned  South.  His  church,  which  had  so 
long  been  a  center  of  evangelistic  influence  in 
southern  South  Carolina,  was  almost  destroyed. 
With  the  restoration  of  peace,  Mr.  Hart  was  re- 
called to  the  pastorate  of  the  church,  but  declined. 
Dr.  Richard  Furman  was  then  called  from  the  high 
hills  of  the  Santee  to  Charleston,  where  he  entered 
upon  a  career  of  marvelous  usefulness  on  October 
18,  1787.  The  membership  was  easily  rallied  and 
Charleston  again  became  a  controlling  center  of  in- 
•fluence  to  the  Baptist  denomination  in  the  South. 
The  churches  throughout  South  Carolina  shared  in 
the  revival  spirit  which  was  now  prevailing  through- 
out all  the  Southern  settlements.  McGready,  th§ 
noted  revivalist,  visited  the  State  in  1802  and  fol- 
lowed up  the  work  which  had  been  accomplished  in 
North     Carolina.       Immense    audiences    thronged 


DENOMINATIONAL    EXPANSION  115 

upon  his  preaching,  variously  estimated  from  four 
to  eight  thousand,  drawn  together  from  a  group  of 
districts,  and  even  from  many  counties  in  Georgia. 
As  was  true  in  the  AVest,  here  were  the  remarkable 
physical  demonstrations  attendant  upon  the  revival 
meetings  of  the  period.  Sudden  loss  of  strength, 
swoons,  outcries,  groans,  involuntary  but  violent 
spasmodic  jerkings  of  the  body-; — all  these  mani- 
festations were  witnessed  during  these  remarkable 
meetings  in  the  Carolinas. 

The  growth  of  the  denomination  in  South  Caro- 
lina is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  in  1784  there  were 
in  the  State  twenty-seven  churches,  with  a  member- 
ship of  one  thousand  six  hundred  and  twenty ;  by 
1782,  or  within  a  period  of  eight  years,  the  num- 
ber of  churches  was  almost  trebled,  there  being  then 
seventy  churches,  with  a  membership  of  four  thou- 
sand one  hundred  and  sixty-seven;  in  1812  the 
churches  numbered  one  hundred  and  fifty-four,  and 
the  total  membership  was  eleven  thousand  three 
hundred  and  twenty-five. 

Only  a  passing  notice  has  been  given  to  Dr.  Rich- 
ard Furman,  who  became  pastor  at  Charleston  in 
1787.  Nothing  could  have  been  more  fortunate 
than  his  settlement  in  the  Charleston  pastorate  just 
at  the  time  that  he  assumed  the  care  of  the  church. 
Just  rallying  from  the  ill  effects  of  the  war,  and 
realizing  again  its  strength,  for  a  long  period  the 
center  of  denominational  influence  in  the  State, 
with  its  opportunities  and  possibilities  greatly  in- 


116  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

creased  by  the  changed  conditions  induced  by  the 
return  of  peace,  the  church  at  Charleston  needed  a 
master-hand,  directed  by  consummate  prudence,  to 
grasp  the  situation  and  wield  eflPectively  the  agen- 
cies within  reach.  These  elements  were  combined 
in  Richard  Furman,  who  readily  became  the  leader 
of  Southern  Baptists,  and  was  the  peer  of  any  man 
in  the  denomination  of  the  entire  country.  He  was 
without  university  training,  but  was  endowed  with 
a  high  order  of  intellect,  which  was  studiously  cul- 
tivated by  self-application  until  he  became  one  of 
the  most  cultured  men  of  the  period.  His  tastes 
led  him  to  retain  the  dress  of  the  colonial  gentle- 
man long  after  it  had  been  generally  abandoned. 
He  never  failed  to  appear  in  his  pulpit  with  the 
gown  and  bands.  Favored  wdth  fortune,  he  made 
a  liberal  and  judicious  use  of  his  means  and  wielded 
a  commanding  influence  throughout  the  State.  The 
subsequent  prosperity  of  the  churches  of  South 
Carolina  is,  in  large  measure,  due  to  the  influence 
of  Richard  Furman,  Sr.,  d.  d. 

The  first  churches  constituted  in  Kentucky  were, 
for  a  considerable  period,  in  a  sluggish  condition. 
Though  the  population  had  increased  to  twenty  or 
thirty  thousand,  and  though  eight  Baptist  churches 
had  been  in  existence  for  years,  still  up  to  1784  no 
one  had  been  baptized  in  Kentucky.  Assiduous 
missionary  labors  and  earnest  preaching  seem  to 
have  availed  nothing  in  the  way  of  quickening 
spirituality  in  the  churches  or  of  arousing  anxiety 


DENOMINATIONAL    EXPANSION  117 

among  the  masses.  But  a  revival  was  experienced 
in  1785  which  drew  the  Baptist  churches  of  that 
State  into  closer  union,  for  no  community  of  inter- 
est had  up  to  this  time  bound  them  together.  Two 
years  later  John  Gano  removed  from  New  York  to 
Kentucky,  and  contributed  greatly  to  the  efficient 
organization  of  the  Baptists  of  the  State.  He  was 
readily  accorded  the  position  of  leadership  in  the 
denomination  and  was  profoundly  venerated  to  the 
close  of  his  life. 

Again,  in  1789,  a  revival  of  profound  and  wide- 
reaching  power  prevailed  throughout  Kentucky. 
This  revival  was  not  restricted,  however,  to  that 
State,  but  was  prevalent  throughout  the  upper  States 
of  the  South,  especially  in  Virginia.  In  some  por- 
tions of  Kentucky  it  lasted  through  a  period  of  three 
years,  and  had  the  happy  effect  of  blending  the  de- 
nomination into  greater  unity  and  of  giving  it  greater 
efficiency.  During  the  period  of  this  remarkable 
spiritual  demonstration  thousands  were  baptized  and 
many  new  churches  were  constituted.  This  revival 
was  followed  by  what  is  known  as  "  The  Great  Re- 
vival" of  1800,  in  which  nearly  all  the  States  of 
the  South  and  West  largely  shared.  This  was  the 
revival  which  began  under  James  McGready  in 
North  Carolina,  and  which  swept  over  the  Southern 
and  Western  States  and  Territories  and  shortly 
changed  the  aspect  of  religious  society.  All  oppo- 
sition seemed  to  yield  to  the  advancing  tide  of 
spirituality.     Haunts  of  evil  were  closed,  and  the 


118  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

obscenity  and  profanity  so  characteristic  then  of 
the  wayside  inns  and  other  places  of  popular  resort 
gave  place  to  prayer  and  praise.  The  multitudes 
of  a  given  region  would  concentrate  at  the  same 
point,  spread  their  tents,  and  establish  a  "  camp 
meeting."  Persons  rode  on  horseback  and  in  wagons 
a  distance  of  a  hundred  miles  sometimes  to  attend 
these  extraordinary  gatherings.  At  a  point  near 
Paris  it  was  believed  that  there  were  concentrated 
at  one  time  as  many  as  twenty  thousand  people. 
One  of  the  occasions  of  worship  is  thus  described 
by  an  eye-witness : 

Here  were  collected  all  elements  calculated  to  affect 
the  imagination.  The  spectacle  jji-esented  at  night  was 
one  of  the  wildest  grandeur.  The  glare  of  the  blazing 
campfires  falling  on  a  dense  assemblage  of  heads  simul- 
taneously bowed  in  adoration  and  reflected  back  from 
long  ranges  of  tents  upon  every  side  ;  hundreds  of  candles 
and  lamps  suspended  among  the  trees,  together  with 
numerous  torches  flashing  to  and  fro,  throwing  an  uncer- 
tain light  upon  the  tremulous  foliage  and  giving  an  ap- 
pearance of  dim  and  indefinite  extent  to  the  depth  of 
the  forest ;  the  solemn  chanting  of  hymns  swelling  and 
falling  on  the  night  wind  ;  the  impassioned  exhortations  ; 
the  earnest  jjrayers,  the  sobs,  shrieks,  or  shouts,  bursting 
from  persons  under  intense  agitation  of  mind  ;  the  sud- 
den spasms  which  seized  upon  scores  and  unexpectedly 
dashed  them  to  the  ground,  all  conspired  to  invest  the 
scene  with  terrific  interest  and  to  work  up  the  feelings  to 
the  highest  pitch  of  excitement.^ 

Here  were  the   most  marvelous  manifestations  of 
1  "  History  Presbyterian  Church,"  p.  137. 


DENOMINATIONAL    EXPANSION  119 

physical  excitement  connected  with  that  great  move- 
ment. It  is  said  that  during  a  given  service  three 
thousand  persons  were  known  to  liave  been  pros-  '■ 

trated  at  one  time  upon  the  ground  in  an  apparently  ^. '  ^_J^ 
lifeless  condition.  Others  were  thrown  into  violent  /- 
convulsions  which  were  popularly  called  "  the  jerks," 
while  others  rolled  upon  the  ground  or  ran  franti- 
cally here  and  there  ;  others  still,  danced  and  sang ; 
while  still  others  barked  like  so  many  dogs.  While 
the  revival  was  largely  directed  by  the  Presbyterian 
ministry  during  its  earlier  stages,  the  Baptists  w^ere 
equally  the  recipients  of  its  advantages.  In  1790 
we  find  in  Kentucky  forty-two  churches,  with  an 
aggregate  membership  of  three  thousand  one  hun- 
dred and  five;  in  1800,  at  the  beginning  of  "The 
Great  Revival,"  there  w^ere  one  hundred  and  six 
churches,  with  a  membership  of  five  thousand  one 
hundred  and  nineteen  ;  in  1803  there  were  two  hun- 
dred and  nineteen  churches,  with  a  membership  of 
fifteen  thousand  four  hundred  and  ninety-five.  One 
of  the  most  salutary  results  of  the  series  of  revivals 
in  Kentucky  was  the  obliteration  of  the  trifling  dif- 
ferences which  existed  between  the  Separate  and 
Regular  Baptists.  Several  attempts  had  been  made 
to  bring  about  this  fusion  in  Kentucky,  but  it  was 
not  consummated  until  1801. 

The  Baptists  of  East  Tennessee  retained  their 
associational  connection  with  the  Sandy  Creek  Asso- 
ciation of  North  Carolina  until  1786,  when  they 
entered  into  the  constitution  of  the  Holston  Associ- 


120  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

ation,  which  af^first  embraced  only  seven  churches. 
This  region  shared  in  the  gracious  results  of  the  re  - 
vival  of  1800-1803,  so  that  six  years  after  its  consti- 
tution the  Holston  Association  included  thirty-six 
churches,  with  a  total  membership  of  two  thousand 
five  hundred.  From  this,  in  consequence  of  its 
overgrown  condition,  was  set  off  the  Tennessee  As- 
sociation. Baptists  did  not  become  permanent  in 
Middle  Tennessee  until  during  the  Revolution,  and 
about  the  year  1780.  In  1791,  Ambrose  Dudley 
and  John  Taylor  rode  on  horseback  from  Ken- 
tucky, a  distance  of  two  hundred  miles,  through  an 
uninhabited  region,  to  assist  in  the  constitution  of 
the  Tennessee  Church  at  the  mouth  of  Sulphur 
Fork  River.  For  three  years  this  church  stood  a 
solitary  outpost  of  evangelization,  with  no  other 
nearer  than  one  hundred  miles.  But  when  in  1794 
White's  Creek  Church  was  planted  in  Middle  Ten- 
nessee, this  was  the  signal  for  an  advance  in  the  Bap- 
tist cause.  The  last-named  church  emigrated  bod- 
ily from  North  Carolina  under  the  lead  of  Elder 
Dorris  and  settled  at  the  source  of  Sulphur  Fork 
River.  It  appears  that  the  removal  of  Mr.  Dorris 
to  Middle  Tennessee  proved  to  be  a  misfortune  to 
the  struggling  cause  in  that  region,  for  his  presence 
was  a  source  of  disturbance  alike  to  his  church  and 
to  the  Association  of  which  it  became  a  member. 
It  was  in  this  portion  of  Tennessee  that  the  rem- 
nants of  a  disorganized  church,  which  had  been 
formed  in  1765,  were  found.     This  original  organi- 


DENOMINATIONAL    EXPANSION  121 

zation  had  been  forced  to  disband  in  1774  because 
of  the  atrocities  of  the  Indians  in  that  region.  In 
1797  there  were  five  churches  in  Middle  Tennessee 
in  such  proximity  as  to  enable  them  to  constitute 
the  Mero  Association.  Subsequent  to  this  the 
Cumberland  Association  was  formed,  which  had  in 

1806  a  membership  of  thirty-nine  churches.  The 
Elk  River  Association  was  created  in  1806.  In 
1808  a  sufficient  number  of  churches  withdrew  from 
the  Cumberland  to  form  the  Red  River  Association, 
and  again,  in  1810,  another  instalment  severed  their 
membership  with  the  Cumberland  and  constituted 
the  Concord  Association.  The  expansion  of  the  de- 
nomination in  Tennessee  is  indicated  by  the  follow- 
ing statistics  : 

In  1784  there  were  in  the  Territory  of  Tennes- 
see six  churches,  with  a  membership  of  less  than 
four  hundred ;  in  1792  there  were  twenty-one 
churches,  with  a  membership  of  nine  hundred  ;  in 
1812  the  churches  had  increased  to  one  hundred 
and  fifty-six  with  a  total  membership  of  eleven 
thousand   three   hundred   and   twenty-five.     About 

1807  Baptists  had  extended  southward  into  the 
Alabama  Territor}^,  where  in  the  settlements,  both 
in  the  northern  and  southern  ends  of  the  Territory, 
there  was  steady  development.  The  denomination 
in  Alabama  did  not  begin  to  grow  rapidly  until  after 
the  battle  of  New  Orleans  and  the  consequent  peace 
with  Great  Britain.  With  the  close  of  that  struggle 
and  the  attendant  cessation  of  Indian  hostilities  in 


122  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

the  South,  immigration  flowed  rapidly  into  Alabama 
from  the  older  States  toward  the  east  as  well  as 
from  Tennessee. 

But  little  progress  Avas  made  by  the  Baptists  of 
Georgia  until  after  the  Revolution.  From  Tucka- 
seeking,  as  a  common  center  of  his  labors,  Botsford 
extended  his  evangelistic  efforts  up  and  down  the 
Savannah  River,  sometimes  preaching  in  Georgia 
and  again  in  South  Carolina.  On  the  Georgia  side 
his  labors  extended  as  far  north  as  the  Kiokee 
settlement,  and  as  far  south  as  Ebenezer.  Mr. 
Botsford  was  ordained  to  the  full  work  of  the  min- 
istry in  1773,  by  Oliver  Hart  and  Francis  Pelot. 
For  years  he  was  a  most  zealous  and  efficient  mis- 
sionary in  the  populous  settlements  of  Georgia  and 
South  Carolina.  When  in  1780  Mr.  Hart  fled  be- 
fore the  advancing  British,  Mr.  Botsford  accompa- 
nied him  as  far  north  as  Virginia,  but  returned 
after  the  restoration  of  peace.  The  four  or  five 
struggling  churches  of  Georgia  might  have  become 
extinct  during  the  stormy  period  of  the  war  but 
for  the  heroism  of  Daniel  Marshall.  He  seems  to 
have  been  left  alone  by  Abraham  Marshall,  his  son, 
Silas  Mercer,  and  Edward  Botsford,  all  of  whom 
sought  safety  in  retreat  during  the  hottest  period  of 
the  Revolution.  But  defy^ing  all  danger,  Daniel 
Marshall  labored  on  as  indefatigably  and  serenely  as 
if  universal  peace  prevailed.  To  the  three  churches 
of  Kiokee,  Botsford,  and  Red  Creek,  which  were 
constituted  previous  to  the  war,  were  added  those  of 


DENOMINATIONAL    EXPANSION  123 

Little  Brier  Creek  and  Fishing  Creek,  which  were 
formed  by  Daniel  Marshall  during  the  Revolution. 
There  was  still  one  other  church,  the  name  of  which 
is  not  now  known,  which  was  situated  on  Buckhead 
Creek,  the  pastor  of  which,  Matthew  Moore,  was  a 
loyalist.  During  the  Revolution  the  membership 
was  scattered  and  the  church  became  practically 
extinct.  In  1787  it  was  revived  through  the 
efforts  of  Revs.  James  Matthews  and  Benjamin 
Davis,  who  gave  it  the  name  of  Buckhead  Creek 
Church. 

With  these  few  organizations  as  a  nucleus,  ex- 
tending in  a  line  up  and  down  the  Savannah  River, 
the  denomination  began  its  marvelous  development 
in  Georgia  after  the  declaration  of  peace  with  Eng- 
land. To  Daniel  Marshall  more  than  to  any  other, 
are  Georgia  Baptists  indebted  for  the  successful 
planting  of  churches  of  our  faith  in  the  first  period 
of  their  history.  He  was  an  ideal  organizer,  and 
was  unremitting  in  his  efforts  to  develop  the  churches 
of  which  he  had  the  oversight.  Wisely  calling  into 
exercise  the  gifts  of  the  membership  of  a  church, 
he  developed  them  as  fully  as  the  prevailing  con- 
ditions allowed.  Embryonic  indications  were  quickly 
observed  by  the  wise  pastor,  and  gifts  were  nour- 
ished into  the  fullest  usefulness  possible.  From 
such  spiritual  tutelage  came  some  of  the  brightest 
names  of  Georgia  Baptist  history — Alexander  Scott, 
Sanders  Walker,  Samuel  Cartledge,  Silas  Mercer, 
Abraham  Marshall,  Loveless  Savidge,  Samuel  New- 


124  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

ton,  William  Davis,  Jeremiah  Reeves,  Joseph 
Baker,  and  others.  Through  the  active  missionary 
labors  of  such  men,  the  denomination  entered  upon 
its  new  career  in  the  years  which  followed  the 
Revolution/ 

The  organization  of  churches  into  Associations 
was  a  fruitful  means  of  expansion.  This  was  nota- 
bly true  with  the  early  churches  of  Georgia.  In 
1784  a  meeting  preliminary  to  the  constitution  of 
the  Georgia  Association  was  held,  though  the  body 
was  not  formally  organized  until  the  following  year. 
The  stimulation  resulting  from  the  annual  gathering 
of  such  bodies  in  these  early  times  was  shown  in 
the  multiplication  of  churches  within  their  territory. 
For  instance,  in  Wilkes  County  alone,  within  the 
territory  of  the  Georgia  Association,  there  were 
organized  twenty-two  churches  during  the  brief 
period  of  six  years.  By  the  year  1794,  ten  years 
after  its  constitution,  the  Georgia  Association  con- 
tained fifty-six  churches,  several  of  Avhich  were  in 
South  Carolina.  The  overgrowth  of  this  body  sug- 
gested the  formation  of  the  Hepzibah  Association, 
and  later  still  of  the  Sarepta,  both  of  which  were 
created  from  churches  drawn  from  the  parent  organi- 
zation.    This  was  a  period  of  enthusiastic  progress 

^  Beginning  with  one  Baptist  church  in  1772,  there  were  in 
Georgia  two  in  1773;  three,  in  1774;  four,  in  1777;  seven,  in 
1780;  eight,  in  1782;  nine,  in  1784;  eleven,  in  1785;  fifteen,  in 
1786;  twenty,  in  1787;  thirty-three,  in  1788;  thirty-five,  in  1789; 
forty-two,  in  1790,  and  fifty-tliree,  with  a  membership  of  nearly 
four  thousand  five  hundred,  in  1794. 


DENOMINATIONAL   EXPANSION  125 

to  Georgia  Baptists.  The  State  was  fortunate  in 
having  superior  leaders  from  the  beginning.  Daniel 
Marshall,  a  man  of  rare  powers  with  the  masses, 
having  died  in  1784,  his  mantle  of  leadership  fell 
upon  Silas  Mercer,  a  man  of  sterner  qualities  than 
his  predecessor,  but  a  preacher  of  great  power  and 
influence  with  the  people.  Mercer  had  removed 
from  North  Carolina  to  Georgia  in  1775,  and  was 
trained  for  his  life-work  through  the  silent  agency 
of  Daniel  Marshall.  Mercer  was  cordially  and 
ably  sustained  by  Abraham  Marshall. 

In  1786  Rev.  Jeremiah  Walker  made  his  appear- 
ance in  Georgia  after  his  deposition  from  the  min- 
istry in  Virginia  for  unbecoming  conduct.  Just 
before  leaving  Virginia,  however,  he  had  been  re- 
stored to  the  ministry.  He  was  accompanied  to 
Georgia  by  Mr.  Tinsley,  who  had  been  his  fellow- 
suiferer  of  persecution  by  imprisonment  in  Virginia. 
The  early  churches  of  Georgia  had  been  singularly 
free  from  the  taint  of  heterodoxy  and  had  entered 
upon  a  career  of  great  promise  when  Walker  and 
Tinsley  appeared  upon  the  scene  as  the  ardent  ad- 
vocates of  Arminianism.  They  found  ready  sym- 
pathizers in  tAvo  Baptist  preachers,  JNIatthew  Talbot 
and  Nathaniel  Hall.  W^alker  was  a  man  of  much 
popular  dash,  was  able,  and  possessed  of  a  fascinat- 
ing oratory.  W^ith  the  assistance  of  those  already 
named  in  this  connection,  he  undertook  to  promul- 
gate Arminian  views  in  Georgia.  In  the  very  out- 
set these  men  encountered  the  most  obstinate  resis- 


126  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

tance,  accompanied  by  aiFectionate  renionstrauce  on 
the  part  of  the  leaders  of  the  denomination,  with 
the  hope  of  recovering  the  Arrainian  advocates 
from  their  error.  For  a  period  this  was  the  occa- 
sion of  much  disturbance.  Finally,  when  the  dis- 
orderly elements  refused  to  yield,  they  were  finally 
expelled  and  order  restored.  Walker  soon  after  died 
and  his  associates  passed  from  public  notice.  Less 
toleration  was  accorded  the  presentation  of  Arminian 
views,  perhaps,  because  the  Methodists  were  contest- 
ing every  inch  of  territory  with  the  Baptists  in  press- 
ing their  claims  upon  public  attention. 

Among  those  who  were  becoming  conspicuous  for 
denominational  leadership  at  that  period  was  Sanders 
Walker,  Avho  was  perhaps  the  first  Baptist  preacher 
ever  ordained  in  Georgia.  He  was  a  Virginian  by 
birth,  but  was  attracted  westward  by  the  alluring 
reports  prevalent  in  the  other  States  of  the  advan- 
tages enjoyed  in  the  newer  territory  of  the  West. 
He  became  a  tower  of  strength  in  his  adopted  State. 

Still  farther  westward,  in  Mississippi,  the  terri- 
tory was  rapidly  occupied  after  the  close  of  the 
war  of  1812.  But  little  denominational  progress 
was  made  before  that  time.  The  cong-lomerate  char- 
acter  of  the  population,  coupled  with  the  hostility 
of  the  Indians,  forbade  rapid  headway  until  order 
was  established.  In  the  earlier  years  of  the  present 
century  New  Hope  Church  was  constituted  in  Adams 
County ;  Bethel  Church,  in  Bayou  Sara  ;  and  New 
Providence  and  Ebenezer,  in  Amite. 


DENOMINATIONAL   EXPANSION  127 

In  briefly  reviewing  the  causes  which  produced 
this  phenomenal  growth  of  the  Baptists,  we  may 
name  as  a  prime  factor  the  reaction  from  the  perse- 
cution to  which  they  were  subjected  during  a  large 
portion  of  the  preceding  century.  This  strain  of 
long-continued  persecution  made  the  reaction  one  of 
great  force  and  energy.  Such  harsh  treatment  not 
only  gave  a  tremendous  rebound  to  the  persecuted, 
but  it  elicited  a  popular  sympathy,  to  which  was 
added  an  eager  interest  aroused  by  the  uncurbed 
fervor  of  the  preaching  of  the  Baptist  ministry. 
The  conjunction  of  two  such  genial  elements  largely 
accounts  for  the  rapidity  of  denominational  expan- 
sion after  the  return  of  peace. 

Another  factor  which  operated  to  bring  about 
this  great  spiritual  upheaval  was  the  missionary  zeal 
of  the  early  Baptist  ministry  of  the  South.  The 
world  never  witnessed  more  consecrated  earnestness 
than  was  displayed  by  these  rude  preachers  of  the 
early  days  of  the  denomination  in  the  Southern 
States.  Most  of  them  came  from  the  walks  of 
common  life,  and  were,  for  the  most  part,  tillers 
of  the  soil.  They  would  labor  upon  their  farms 
until  near  the  close  of  the  week,  studying  their 
plain  English  Bibles  at  night,  and  at  the  proper 
time  would  start  to  their  appointments,  often  more 
than  forty  miles  away.  Not  infrequently  in  pioneer 
regions,  where  the  trail  of  the  Indian  was  the  only 
means  of  uniting  the  diiferent  settlements,  these 
hardy  men  would  encounter  streams  swollen  and 


128  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

bridgeless,  but  undaimted  would  swim  to  the  oppo- 
site side  and  prosecute  their  journeys  with  'alacrity. 
Their  familiarity  with  the  needs  of  the  masses  would 
enable  them  readily  to  meet  the  demands  of  every 
occasion.  The  popular  esteem  excited  by  their  dis- 
interested zeal  made  the  utterances  of  these  plain, 
unlettered  men  almost  oracular.  Disturbances  of 
whatever  character  in  the  new  settlements  were 
often  submitted  to  the  calm  decision  of  the  pious 
Baptist  missionaries,  and  the  conclusions  to  which 
they  were  led  by  their  rugged  sense  of  right,  not 
only  enabled  them  to  adjust  difficulties,  but  gave  to 
them  a  wonderful  hold  upon  the  popular  mind  and 
heart. 

The  strength  and  compass  of  this  influence  were 
increased  by  the  fact  that  the  labors  of  these  men 
were  uncompensated.  Under  the  stress  of  existing 
conditions  this  was  unavoidable.  Through  self-ab- 
negation alone  could  the  gospel  be  given  to  the  rude 
settlers  upon  the  frontier,  as  they  were  frequently 
subjected,  for  the  first  few  years,  to  great  privation. 
This  unrequited  labor  gave  to  the  early  preacher 
unusual  liberty  and  plainness  of  speech  which  he 
exercised  without  stint.  Though  advantageous  at 
this  time,  this  failure  to  exact  compensation  from 
the  early  churches  proved  a  barrier  in  after  years  to 
church  development  in  the  South.  When,  as  the 
result  of  such  unflagging  zeal  and  unremitting  labor, 
churches  began  to  multiply  throughout  the  early 
settlements  of  the  South  and  Associations  began  to 


DENOMINATIONAL    EXPANSION  129 

be  organized,  evangelization  became  more  system- 
atic and  eiFective.  A  Baptist  organization,  whether 
it  was  a  church  or  a  district  Association,  became  at 
once  an  evangelistic  center,  and  so  surely  as  an  un- 
evangelized  district  lay  within  reach,  just  so  surely 
did  it  fall  under  the  influence  of  the  progressive 
home  missionary  of  the  Baptists. 

Following  up  their  success  by  preaching  Sunday 
after  Sunday  under  the  difficulties  and  embarrass- 
ments already  named,  these  men  of  fiery  zeal  would 
quit  their  homes  for  weeks  together,  when  their  crops 
would  no  longer  demand  rigid  attention,  and  preach 
day  after  day  to  assembled  hundreds. 

More  rapid  headway  was  gained  by  the  Baptists 
of  the  South  in  the  periods  immediately  succeeding 
the  Revolution,  by  reason  of  the  thorough  accord 
of  the  polity  of  Baptist  churches  with  the  genius  of 
the  government  and  the  republican  spirit  of  the 
masses.  If  Baptists  did  much  toward  achieving 
American  independence,  the  consummation  of  that 
event  in  turn  did  much  for  their  denominational 
expansion.  The  reaction  from  royal  dominion  and 
from  everything  that  pertained  to  the  crown  was 
terrible,  and  out  of  this  condition  sprang  the  re- 
vivals which  swept  in  succession  over  the  South  for 
more  than  twenty-five  years  after  the  close  of  the 
Revolutionary  War. 

The  unremitting  endeavors  of  the  Baptist  minis- 
try of  this  early  period  were  not  a  little  stimulated 
hy  the  presence  of  Methodist  circuit  riders  in  all 


130  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

the  settlements  of  the  South.  Bold,  active,  enter- 
prising, and  aggressive,  these  early  Methodist  min- 
isters ardently  disputed  every  inch  of  ground  with 
the  Baptist  missionary.  During  the  Revolution  the 
Methodists  had  not  proved  steadfast  as  dissenters, 
and  in  the  efforts  of  the  Baptists  to  undermine  the 
Establishment,  they  were  oftener  than  otherwise  in 
sympathy  with  the  supporters  of  the  crown.  This 
operated  with  no  little  eifect  against  the  Methodists 
after  the  close  of  hostilities,  but  they  were  unchecked 
in  sturdy  effort.  Baptists  were  more  than  a  match 
for  them  in  the  rural  districts,  but  in  the  centers  of 
population  the  Methodists,  for  a  period,  gained  a 
firmer  footing.  Popularity  of  method,  coupled  with 
an  accommodation  of  requirement  for  church-mem- 
bership, did  much  to  favor  the  progress  of  the  Metho- 
dists in  the  growing  towns  of  the  South.  There  is 
little  doubt  that  the  aggressive  front  of  this  Revo- 
lutionary rival  in  the  field  of  evangelism  contributed 
in  no  small  measure  to  the  weldiuo^  tog-ether  of  the 
two  divisions  of  the  Baptists  of  the  South. 


CHAPTER  Y 

EDUCATIONAL,   WORK 

THE  phenomenal  growth  of  the  Baptist  denomi- 
nation in  the  South  in  the  early  periods  of  its 
history,  suggested  to  a  few  of  the  most  prominent 
among  them  the  importance  of  providing  for  a  better 
equipped  ministry  with  which  to  organize  and  direct 
this  great  host  which  had  enlisted  under  the  de- 
nominational banner.  With  rare  exceptions  the 
ministry  of  the  Baptists  of  the  South  at  this  period 
was  composed  of  illiterate,  but  earnest  and  devout 
men.  Among  them  were  a  few  educated  leaders 
who  were  the  first  to  formulate  methods  by  which 
the  intellectual  standard  of  the  Baptist  pulpit  might 
be  elevated.  On  account  of  several  particulars  this 
was  a  most  formidable  undertaking,  which  was  as- 
sumed by  a  few  courageous  spirits,  for  it  was  mani- 
fest from  the  outset  that  such  a  praiseworthy  enter- 
prise would  be  resisted  by  the  unlearned  ministry. 
Some  among  the  illiterate  ministers  seemed  to  re- 
gard such  a  suggestion  as  a  reflection  upon  their 
ability  to  preach  ;  others  considered  it  as  an  im- 
pious hint  that  the  divine  call  to  the  ministry  was 
not  complete  without  the  patchwork  of  men  ;  while 
others  still  looked  upon  such  a  proposal  as  a  dispo- 

131 


132  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

sition  to  pander  to  individual  and  public  pride. 
Thus  it  came  to  pass  that  a  suggestion  which  was 
capable  of  the  greatest  good  became,  in  the  hands 
of  the  unenlightened  and  prejudiced  ministry,  a 
cudgel  to  be  used  against  pious  and  progressive 
leaders. 

Themselves  illiterate,  these  very  preachers,  many 
of  them  in  their  opposition,  found  hearty  support 
in  the  great  uneducated  masses  which  had  been 
brought  into  the  churches. 

The  Baptist  denomination  in  the  South,  after  the 
close  of  the  extraordinary  revival  periods  which  dis- 
tinguished the  early  years  of  the  century,  was  a 
great  unorganized,  undisciplined  mass,  the  dominat- 
ing purpose  of  wdiich  seemed  to  be  to  do  just  as 
they  might  wish.  If  they  were  to  accomplish  the 
results  for  which,  as  a  denomination,  they  seemed 
providentially  destined,  then  efficient  organization 
was  necessary.  But  such  organization  was  not  pos- 
sible without  intelligent  direction,  and  intelligent 
direction  must  necessarily  begin  with  the  local  pas- 
toral leaders.  Thus  the  more  progressive  of  the 
Baptist  ministry  thought  in  the  beginning  of  the 
present  century.  But  how  was  such  a  project  to 
become  operative  when  it  was  resisted  largely  by 
the  class  of  men  whom  it  sought  to  benefit?  These 
men,  sustained  by  the  rank  and  file  of  the  denomin- 
tion,  placed  almost  insuperable  barriers  in  the  way 
of  this  disinterested  plan  of  denominational  pro- 
gress. 


EDUCATIONAL    WORK  133 

There  was  nothing  of  malice  in  the  opposition 
shown  by  an  unschooled  ministry  against  intellect- 
ual development.  Men  were  never  sincerer  than 
they.  Herein  lay  the  greatest  factor  of  strength 
on  the  part  of  the  opposition.  Ignorance  is  the 
parent  of  prejudice,  and  prejudice  is  the  foe  of  pro- 
gress. United  with  religion  this  combination,  in 
which  religion  usually  forms  a  subordinate  part,  is 
generally  resolved  into  a  sublimated  superstition. 
These  honest,  though  unlettered  men,  ignorant  of 
the  laws  of  mental  development  and  regardless  of 
the  total  absence  of  divine  promise  to  support  their 
views,  insisted  that  if  called  of  God  to  preach  there 
would  be  supernatural  provision  for  the  duty  as 
occasion  might  require.  This  they  honestly  be- 
lieved and  earnestly  advocated  in  the  presence  of 
assembled  multitudes  as  ignorant  as  their  reputed 
leaders  themselves,  if  not  more  so.  Undaunted  by 
these  grave  odds  and  realizing  the  immensity  of 
their  undertaking,  such  men  as  Furman  and  Pelot, 
of  South  Carolina,  and  Holcombe  and  Mercer,  of 
Georgia,  together  with  a  few  others  throughout  the 
South,  resolved  ujDon  the  creation  of  means  for  the 
better  equipment  of  the  Baptist  ministry.  Without 
concert  of  action  these  men,  in  widely  separated 
States,  were  moved  by  the  same  impulse  because  the 
conditions  were  everywhere  the  same  throughout 
the  States  of  the  South.  As  a  beginning,  means 
were  raised  with  which  to  purchase  books,  and 
wherever  practicable  ministers  were  gathered  into 


134  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

classes  and  taught.  In  the  course  of  time  these 
small  beginnings  were  suggestive  of  ampler  pro- 
visions and  finally  of  schools  for  the  better  training 
of  the  Baptist  ministry.  From  these  crude  orig-^ 
inal  plans  grew  the  denominational  colleges  now  to 
be  found  in  all  the  Southern  States. 

The  earliest  associational  and  conventional  organ- 
izations in  the  South  were  founded  upon  a  dual  idea, 
denominational  extension  and  the  education  of  the 
ministry.  This  work  began  as  far  back  as  the  pas- 
toral administration  of  Oliver  Hart  in  Charleston 
prior  to  the  Revolution,  for  it  was  he  who  first 
moved  in  the  matter  of  constituting  a  distinct  As- 
sociation. Into  this  original  organization  three 
churches  entered — the  First  Church  of  Charleston, 
Ashley  River,  and  Welsh  Neck.  This  action  took 
place  as  early  as  1751.  The  chief  agents  in  this 
progressive  movement  were  the  pastors  of  the 
churches  named — Oliver  Hart,  John  Stevens,  and 
Philip  James.  Early  the  following  year  they  were 
greatly  reinforced  by  Francis  Pelot,  pastor  of  Eu- 
haw  Church,  who  was  a  man  of  ample  means,  for 
according  to  Morgan  Edwards,  he  "  owned  three 
islands  and  about  three  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
eighty-five  acres  on  the  continent,  with  slaves  and 
stock  in  abundance." 

In  1775  John  Gano  became  an  evangelist  of  the 
Charleston  Association.  One  of  the  chief  cares 
with  which  he  was  charged  was  that  of  seeking 
out  gifted  young  men  called  of  God  to  preach  and 


EDUCATIONAL    WORK  135 

to  recommend  them  to  the  Charleston  Association. 
In  1756  an  educational  fund  was  raised  by  the 
Charleston  Association  amounting  to  one  hundred 
and  thirty-three  pounds.  Among  those  who  be- 
came the  beneficiaries  of  this  fund  were  Evan  Pugh, 
Samuel  Stillman,  and  Edmund  Botsford.  These 
early  South  Carolina  pastors  were  liberal  contribu- 
tors to  Rhode  Island  College  during  the  presidency 
of  Dr.  Manning,  with  whom  Mr.  Hart  was  inti- 
mately acquainted. 

These  incipient  efforts  in  education  were  cut  short 
by  the  Revolution.  Manifestly  the  least  possible 
in  educational  matters  had  been  done  in  the  South 
when  the  period  of  hostile  agitation  came.  Con- 
sidering that  which  had  been  accomplished,  it  is  re- 
markable that  denominational  progress  in  the  South- 
ern States  up  to  the  close  of  the  Revolution  was 
due  to  the  work  of  an  uneducated  ministry.  The 
success  achieved  during  these  trying  times  by  men 
untrained  in  the  schools  remained  for  a  long  period 
a  barrier  to  enlarged  ministerial  and  pastoral  devel- 
opment. 

In  1788  President  Manning  addressed  a  letter  to 
the  Virginia  Baptists  through  the  general  commit- 
tee, urging  them  to  take  steps  to  establish  a  semi- 
nary of  learning.  The  only  action  taken,  in  conse- 
quence of  this  communication,  was  the  adoption  of 
a  resolution  to  appoint  a  committee  "  to  forward  the 
business  respecting  a  seminary  of  learning."  The 
matter  dragged  its  slow  length  along  until  1793, 


136  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

when  it  was  revived  and  committed  to  the  hands  of 
Rev.  John  Williams  and  Mr.  Thomas,  who  sub- 
mitted a  plan  which  was  at  the  time  deemed  prac- 
ticable, but  was  subsequently  dropped,  the  question 
being  dismissed.  The  subject  was  revived  in  1809, 
when  it  seems  that  the  only  two  subjects  before  the 
General  Meeting  of  Correspondence  of  the  Virginia 
Baptists  were  "  the  religious  education  of  children 
and  the  establishment  of  some  seminary  or  public 
school  to  assist  young  preachers  to  acquire  a  liter- 
ary knowledge."  The  question  which  related  to 
the  establishment  of  an  institution  of  learning  Avas 
referred  to  a  committee  of  two  "  to  acquire  infor- 
mation and  digest  a  plan  for  such  a  seminary."  But 
nothing  came  of  all  this  until  many  years  later. 
The  utmost  that  was  accomplished  by  such  action 
was  to  keep  the  subject  before  the  mind  of  the  de- 
nomination. In  order  to  meet  the  deficiency,  every 
kind  of  makeshift  was  resorted  to.  The  general 
plan  in  a  given  section  of  country  was  to  establish 
a  ministerial  library  by  means  of  a  common  fund 
and  lend  the  books  to  such  young  ministers  as  might 
be  desirous  of  improvement.  In  not  a  few  instances 
the  most  learned  of  the  ministry  would  assume  the 
task  of  the  voluntary  instruction  of  such  as  were 
willing  to  accept  it. 

Among  those  who  rendered  valuable  service  to 
young  ministers  should  be  named  Dr.  John  M. 
Roberts,  pastor  of  the  High  Hills  of  Santee  Church, 
South    Carolina.       For   a    number   of    years    this 


EDUCATIONAL    WORK  137 

scholarly  preacher  gave  gratuitous  instruction  to 
the  beneficiaries  of  the  Education  Fund  of  the 
Charleston  Association. 

During  the  first  quarter  of  the  present  century 
much  time  and  thought  was  devoted  by  South- 
ern Baptists  to  the  matter  of  education.  To  the 
need  of  the  times,  growing  more  imperatively  mani- 
fest every  year,  were  added  the  fervid  injunctions 
of  Luther  Rice,  whose  devotion  to  the  sacred  cause 
was  equally  divided  between  missions  and  educa- 
tion. Nothing  was  more  manifest  than  an  increas- 
ing need  of  preachers  of  ability  and  influence  to 
occupy  the  pulpits  of  the  growing  centers  of  popu- 
lation ;  but  there  was  not  sufficient  unanimity  of 
sentiment  in  any  of  the  States  of  the  South  to  de- 
vise a  plan  for  denominational  instruction.  Reso- 
lutions abounded,  committees  were  appointed,  and 
reports  were  adopted  without  number  ;  but  no  prac- 
tical shape  was  given  to  the  matter.  Added  to  the 
difficulties,  already  named,  was  another  which  was  a 
silent  barrier  to  the  general  plan  of  creating  insti- 
tutions of  learning,  that  of  the  rapid  develojmient 
of  the  virgin  resources  of  the  new  States  of  the 
South.  This  brought  general  prosperity  to  the 
entire  region,  and  individual  fortunes  to  thousands. 
Among  the  favored  ones  were  many  Baptist  preach- 
ers who  would  come  into  the  possession  of  lands 
and  slaves  which  gave  to  them  both  means  and 
leisure  to  prosecute  their  studies  privately.  The 
most  active  and  wide-awake  in  the  management  of 


138  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

temporal  affairs,  they  were,  as  a  class,  the  most  pro- 
gressive, ambitious,  aud  talented  of  the  ministry. 
Their  interest  in  the  matter  was  largely  neutralized 
by  their  failure  to  appreciate  the  emphatic  necessity 
of  an  institution  for  the  betterment  of  the  ministry 
generally/ 

In  the  revival  of  the  spirit  of  denominational 
education  in  the  South  near  the  close  of  the  first 
quarter  of  the  present  century,  we  find  South  Caro- 
lina again  in  the  lead.  The  same  cause  which  led 
to  the  constitution  of  Associations  after  the  multi- 
plication of  churches,  now  operated  to  induce  the 
organization  of  State  Conventions  when  Associations 
had  been  greatly  increased — that  of  giving  stability, 
regularity,  and  uniformity  to  denominational  enter- 
prise. Foremost  in  this  work  was  Dr.  Richard 
Furman,  who  was  instrumental  in  procuring  an 
assembly  of  delegates  from  the  Charleston,  Savan- 
nah River,  and  Edgefield  Associations,  in  the  city 
of  Columbia  in  1821.  The  result  of  this  meeting 
was  the  formal  organization  of  the  Baptist  State 
Convention  of  South  Carolina,  with  Dr.  Furman  as 
president.  An  address  was  prepared  by  the  dis- 
tinguished president  to  be  submitted  to  the  Baptists 
of  the  State,  in  which  address  great  emphasis  was 
laid  upon  the  importance  of  an  educated  ministry. 
Anticipating  objections  that  might  be  raised  against 
this  suggestion.  Dr.  Furman  disposed  of  them,  one 
by  one,  in  a  most  masterly  way.  Time  was  needed 
1  Semple,  pp.  116-117. 


EDUCATIONAL    WORK  139 

for  this  sentiment  to  take  root.  The  year  following, 
Dr.  \y.  B.  Johnson,  who  succeeded  Furman  as 
president  of  the  body,  took  up  the  same  subject  and 
discussed  it  more  fully  still. 

In  order  to  ultimate  success,  and  for  reasons  of 
economy,  the  Baptists  of  South  Carolina  were  de- 
sirous of  co-operating  with  those  of  Georgia  in  the 
establishment  of  an  institution  of  learning  in 
common,  for  the  denomination  in  both  these  States 
was  agitating  the  question  of  providing  means  for 
the  better  equipment  of  the  ministry.  The  question 
of  ministerial  education  was  that  which  underlay 
all  the  denominational  male  colleges  founded  by  the 
Baptists  in  the  South  and  to  every  one  was  there  a 
theological  department  attached  until  the  institution 
of  theological  seminaries  in  the  country.  The  plan 
for  establishing  a  co-operative  institution  between 
the  Baptists  of  Georgia  and  South  Carolina  was 
settled  upon  and  negotiations  entered  into  with 
every  indication  of  success ;  but  the  obstruction  of 
State  lines  could  not  be  overcome  and  the  under- 
taking fell  through. 

Consequently,  in  1826  the  Convention  of  South 
Carolina  established  a  school  at  Edgefield  Court- 
house and  called  it  the  Furman  Academy  and 
Theological  Institution,  and  Prof  J.  A.  Warne  was 
placed  in  charge  of  it.  The  books  which  had  been 
gathered  for  the  use  of  ministerial  students  by  the 
General  Committee  of  the  Charleston  Association 
formed  the  nucleus  of  a  librarv  for  the  new  insti- 


140  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

tiition.  But  the  enterprise  was  short-lived,  per- 
ishing after  the  second  year.  Still  the  better 
training  of  the  ministry  remained  a  burning  ques- 
tion. What  should  be  done  under  the  stress  of 
circumstances  ?  A  practical  answer  to  this  question 
was  undertaken  by  the  retention  of  the  theological 
department  of  the  extinct  institution,  over  which 
was  placed  Rev.  Jesse  Hartwell,  after  its  removal 
to  High  Hills.  In  1829  Mr.  Hartwell  was  form- 
ally elected  principal  of  the  Furman  Theological 
Institution.  During  the  following  year,  Samuel 
Furman,  a  son  of  the  late  Charleston  pastor,  was 
associated  with  Mr.  Hartwell  as  co-principal.  After 
a  struggle  for  life  extending  through  two  or  three 
years,  the  institution  perished.  Still  the  urgent 
necessity  of  such  an  institution  remained.  In  1835 
another  effort  was  made  in  Fairfield  district,  where 
there  was  associated  with  scholastic  training  the 
idea  of  manual  labor.  For  a  period  of  years  this 
was  a  favorite  scheme  in  the  South — this  union  of 
mental  and  manual  labor — and  yet  no  theory  ever 
failed  more  signally  to  eventuate  in  practical  result. 
Under  the  principalship  of  Prof.  W.  E.  Bailey,  late 
of  Charleston  College,  the  mongrel  institution, 
manual,  classical,  and  theological,  was  begun.  It 
was  not  without  tokens  of  success.  New  buildings, 
a  well-equipped  faculty,  and  encouraging  patronage 
gave  to  the  young  enterprise  much  assurance  of 
success;  but  the  buildings  were  burned  in  1837, 
Professor   Bailey   resigned  a   year   later,   and    the 


EDUCATIONAL   WORK  141 

school  suspended  in  1840.  Subsequent  enterprises 
were  undertaken  with  varying  fortunes  during  the 
next  decade,  with  which,  at  different  times,  were 
conspicuously  connected  Dr.  Hooper,  late  of  the 
University  of  North  Carolina  ;  Professor  Maginnis, 
who  was  afterward  connected  with  the  institutions 
at  Hamilton  and  Rochester,  N.  Y.  ;  and  Rev.  J.  L. 
Reynolds  and  Prof.  Jeremiah  Chaplin,  Jr.  From 
these  efforts  and  struggles  was  finally  developed 
Furman  University  which  was  established  in  1851. 
The  Baptists  of  no  State  have  made  a  better  re- 
cord in  matters  educational  than  those  of  Georgia, 
nor  have  the  Baptists  of  any  State  been  more  highly 
favored  with  gifted  leadership.  One  of  the  fore- 
most promoters  of  education  in  Georgia  was  Dr. 
Henry  Holcombe,  who  was  originally  a  Revolution- 
ary officer.  Born  in  Virginia  and  reared  in  South 
Carolina,  he  entered  the  American  army  while  quite 
a  young  man  and  rose  to  distinction.  Being  led  to 
a  study  of  the  New  Testament  he  was  convinced  of 
his  duty,  and  promptly  mounted  his  horse  and  rode 
twenty  miles  from  camp  in  order  to  be  baptized. 
Returning  he  delivered  a  sermon  to  his  command 
while  still  sitting  astride  his  horse.  In  1785  he 
was  ordained  to  the  ministry,  and  at  once  took  a 
conspicuous  place  in  the  denomination  of  his  adopted 
State,  Georgia.  He  was  chosen  a  delegate  to  the 
State  Convention  which  adopted  the  national  consti- 
tution. Afterward  he  became  pastor  of  the  Euhaw 
Church,  South  Carolina,  and  later  became  pastor  at 


142  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

Savannah.  It  seems  that  the  Baptist  meeting-house 
at  Savannah  was  being  rented  by  the  Presbyterians 
at  the  time  of  Mr.  Holcombe's  call.  The  few  Bap- 
tists of  the  city  had  suggested  that  a  call  be  made 
to  Dr.  Holcombe  to  serve  jointly  the  Presbyterians 
and  the  Baptists.  Under  these  peculiar  conditions 
he  accepted  the  call  upon  a  salary  of  two  thousand 
dollars,  which  was  perhaps  the  largest  that  had  ever 
been  received  by  a  Baptist  pastor  up  to  that  time. 
In  1 800  he  organized  a  Baptist  church  with  a  mem- 
bership of  ten,  which  ran  up  to  sixty  within  two 
years  more.  He  was  a  true  yoke-fellow  with  Fur- 
man  in  devising  and  prosecuting  methods  for  de- 
nominational expansion.  Like  the  pastor  at  Charles- 
ton, Holcombe  was  magnificent  in  his  physical  pro- 
portions, being  six  feet  two  inches  high,  and  weigh- 
ing three  hundred  pounds.  Among  his  public  serv- 
ices may  be  mentioned  his  origination  of  the  Georgia 
penitentiary  system  and  the  part  borne  by  him  in 
founding  the  Savannah  Female  Orphan  Asylum. 

But  the  most  signal  services  rendered  by  him 
were  in  conjunction  with  the  efforts  of  Jesse  Mercer 
to  procure  concert  of  action  in  the  denomination 
along  the  lines  of  missions  and  education.  Hol- 
combe was  the  first  to  give  distinct  expression  to 
denominational  education  in  Georgia  by  founding 
the  Mt.  Enon  Academy  for  the  education  of  Baptist 
youth.  Public  interest  in  denominational  education 
did  not  begin  to  manifest  itself  in  Georgia  until 
7    1825.     Among  the  items  contributed  that  year  by 


EDUCATIONAL    WORK  143 

the  Baptists  of  Georgia  was  the  sum  of  seventeen 
dollars  and  fifty  cents  for  ministerial  education. 
Under  the  inspiration  of  a  sermon  preached  the  fol- 
lowing year  by  Dr.  W.  B.  Johnson,  of  South  Caro- 
lina, the  sum  of  one  hundred  and  eight  dollars  was 
collected  "  for  the  education  of  pious  young  men." 
A  beneficiary  was  adopted  in  consequence,  and  the 
executive  committee  was  instructed  "to  prepare 
some  plan  by  which  a  fund  for  bestowing  a  theo- 
logical education  upon  beneficiaries  might  be  pro- 
vided." This  was  the  first  step  in  the  direction  of 
denominational  education  taken  by  the  Baptists  of 
Georgia.  The  same  conditions  prevailed  in  Georgia 
which  existed  elsewhere  throughout  the  South — the 
majority  of  the  Baptist  ministers  were  unlearned  but 
consecrated  men,  while  some  of  them  were  very  ig- 
norant. Exceptional  instances  were  found  in  such 
men  as  W.  T.  Brantley,  Sr.,  Jesse  Mercer,  Adiel 
Sherwood,  Henry  J.  Ripley,  Iverson  L.  Brooks,  J. 
P.  Marshall,  B.  M.  Sanders,  and  J.  H.  T.  Kilpat- 
rick.  These  led  in  the  first  movement  to  establish 
an  institution  of  learning  of  high  grade.  While 
many  supported  such  a  project,  many  more  opposed 
it. 

The  retirement  of  Holcombe  from  Georgia  to 
accept  a  call  from  Philadelphia  left  Jesse  Mercer 
the  acknowledged  leader  of  the  Baptists  of  the  State. 
Henceforth  he  became  the  zealous  apostle  of  de- 
nominational progress,  stoutly  resisting  the  opposi- 
tion which   arose  formidably  from  many  quarters. 


144  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

While  those  whose  names  have  been  furnished  gave 
hira  substantial  aid  and  sympathy,  his  truest  yoke- 
fellow was  perhaps  Adiel  Sherwood,  who  was  both 
a  preacher  and  an  educator.  While  pastor  at  Eaton- 
ton  he  was  principal  of  the  academy  at  that  place 
and  did  excellent  service  in  a  variety  of  ways  for 
the  denomination.  He  was  an  enthusiastic  assistant 
of  young  men  looking  to  the  ministry,  and  was  in- 
strumental in  the  preparation  of  a  number  for  their 
work,  among  whom  was  Jesse  H.  Campbell. 

The  Baptists  of  Georgia  manifested  their  interest 
in  general  educational  matters  during  the  twenties 
by  liberally  contributing  to  Columbian  College  in 
response  to  the  appeals  of  Luther  Rice,  through 
whom  and  Jesse  Mercer  they  contributed  not  less 
than  twenty  thousand  dollars  to  that  institution. 
This  liberality  was  in  large  measure  due  to  the  fact 
that  Jesse  Mercer  was  a  trustee  of  Columbian  Col- 
lege. Among  the  means  employed  with  marked 
success  by  Mr.  Mercer  to  further  denominational 
interests  was  "  The  Christian  Index,"  the  columns 
of  which  he  employed  with  powerful  effect  in  par- 
rying the  blows  of  the  opponents  of  education  and 
missions,  and  making  possible  at  that  time  those 
interests  among  Georgia  Baptists. 

The  Georgia  Baptist  Convention  was  organized 
in  1822.  The  suggestion  of  the  constitution  of 
such  a  body  came  first  from  the  Sarepta  Associa- 
tion, but  the  year  following  it  rescinded  its  action. 
The  Georgia  Association,  together  with  the  Ocmul- 


EDUCATIONAL    WORK  145 

gee,  met  at  Powelton  in  June,  1822,  and  formally 
organized  the  body.  By  degrees  other  Associations 
fell  into  line  and  evangelistic  and  colportage  work 
was  pressed  with  all  the  vigor  possible.  A  turn  in 
the  tide  of  affairs  came  a  little  later,  however,  and 
it  seemed,  from  the  great  opposition  encountered  by 
the  supporters  of  the  Convention,  that  it  would  go 
to  pieces.  But  a  most  propitious  period  of  the  Con- 
vention was  just  ahead,  for  in  1829  Josiah  Penfield 
bequeathed  to  the  Convention  twenty-five  hundred 
dollars  as  the  basis  of  a  permanent  fund  for  the 
purposes  of  theological  education,  to  be  paid  on 
condition  that  an  equal  sum  be  raised  by  the  Con- 
vention. The  sum  was  speedily  raised,  Jesse  Mer- 
cer heading  the  list  with  two  hundred  and  fifty  dol- 
lars. Dr.  Cullen  Battle  following  with  two  hundred 
dollars,  and  others  still  following  with  similar 
amounts.  At  the  session  of  the  Convention  for 
1831  it  was  resolved,  "That  as  soon  as  the  funds 
will  justify  it  this  Convention  will  establish  in  some 
central  part  of  the  State  a  classical  and  theological 
school."  It  was  further  provided  that  this  was  to 
be  connected  with  a  manual  labor  department,  and 
that  only  those  preparing  for  the  ministry  should  l)e 
admitted.  Adiel  Sherwood  promptly  pledged  him- 
self to  raise  by  subscription  fifteen  hundred  dollars 
for  the  purchase  of  needed  lands.  In  1832  an 
eligible  site  for  the  location  of  Mercer  Institute  was 
purchased  in  Greene  County,  and  in  honor  of  Josiah 
Penfield  the  village  was  named  for  him. 


146  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

The  rapid  progress  of  the  denomination  and  the 
preparations  of  the  Presbyterians  to  establish  a 
college  of  high  rank,  prompted  Jesse  Mercer  to 
undertake  greater  achievements.  He  aroused  much 
popular  enthusiasm  by  proposing  the  erection  on  a 
magnificent  scale  of  a  great  institution  of  learning 
at  his  home  at  Washington,  Georgia,  to  be  known  as 
"  The  Southern  Baptist  College."  A  charter  was 
promptly  obtained  and  agents  went  to  work  to  raise 
an  endowment  fund.  One  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars was  soon  subscribed,  and  no  doubt  the  plan 
would  have  been  realized  had  a  financial  crash 
not  come  at  that  time.  As  a  result  the  value  of 
the  subscriptions  was  depreciated,  the  charter  had 
to  be  surrendered,  popular  enthusiasm  cooled,  and 
before  the  financial  crisis  had  spent  its  force  the 
possibility  of  reviving  the  suspended  interest  had 
passed.  Such  of  the  subscriptions  as  could  be  trans- 
ferred to  the  institution  at  Penfield  were  diverted  to 
that  purpose,  and  thus  began  Mercer  University. 
B.  M.  Sanders  became  the  president,  S.  P.  Sanford 
one  of  the  professors,  and  Adiel  Sherwood  was 
elected  professor  of  theology.  Mercer  gave  to  the 
institution,  including  his  bequest,  about  forty  thou- 
sand dollars.  Several  efforts  were  made  to  remove 
the  institution  from  Penfield  ;  but  no  change  of  loca- 
tion was  effected  until  1870,  when  it  was  removed 
to  Macon.  The  presidents  of  the  institution  have 
been  :  Sanders,  Smith,  Dagg,  Crawford,  Tucker, 
Battle,  Nunnelly,  and  Gambrell. 


EDUCATIONAL    WORK  147 

The  avowed  purpose  of  the  formation  of  the  Bap- 
tist State  Convention  of  North  Carolina,  was  the 
creation  of  means  for  denominational  education.  At 
the  meeting  of  the  Convention  in  1832  it  was  defi- 
nitely recommended  by  the  committee  on  education 
and  unanimously  adopted  by  the  Convention  "to 
purchase  a  suitable  farm,  and  to  adopt  other  pre- 
liminary measures  for  the  establishment  of  a  Bap- 
tist literary  institution  in  this  State  upon  the  man- 
ual labor  principle."  During  the  same  year  six 
hundred  and  fifteen  acres  of  land  were  purchased 
in  Wake  County,  but  the  school  was  not  opened 
until  1834.  It  was  called  AYake  Forest  Institute, 
and  Samuel  Wail,  of  New  York,  was  elected  prin- 
cipal. Beginning  with  an  enrollment  of  twenty- 
five  students,  the  number  was  soon  increased  to 
seventy. 

At  first  the  students  were  required  to  perform 
three  hours  of  manual  labor  daily ;  this,  however, 
was  soon  reduced  to  one  hour  each  day.  The  hoe 
and  the  plow  were,  however,  made  the  concomitants 
of  the  desk  and  the  blackboard  throughout  the  year. 
During  the  second  year  the  school  was  blessed  with 
a  revival  which  planted  it  deeply  and  permanently 
in  the  hearts  of  the  denomination.  In  1838,  by  an 
amendment  of  the  original  charter,  the  name  of  the 
school  w^as  changed  to  that  of  Wake  Forest  College. 
Ten  years  later  the  college  was  overwhelmed  with 
a  debt  of  twenty  thousand  dollars  and  seemed  ready 
to  sink.     The  outlook  was  sufficiently  despairing  to 


148   HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

induce  both  the  president  of  the  Board  of  Trustees 
and  of  the  college  to  resign.  At  this  juncture 
Elder  James  S.  Purefoy  undertook  a  voluntary 
agency  to  lift  the  burden,  which  he  valiantly  suc- 
ceeded in  doing  the  first  year.  With  this  the  insti- 
tution took  a  fresh  bound  forward,  so  that  by  1861 
it  had  an  endowment  of  forty-six  thousand  dollars, 
the  raising  of  which  was  mainly  due  to  the  inde- 
fatigable efforts  of  President  Wingate.  Wake  For- 
est College  emerged  from  the  wreck  of  war  wdth  an 
available  endowment  of  only  fourteen  thousand  dol- 
lars. By  being  wdsely  administered  the  endowment 
steadily  increased,  and  by  the  close  of  1883  the  col- 
lege had  an  endowment  of  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars,  one  tenth  of  which  had  been  a  gift  of  Mr. 
J.  A.  Bostwick,  of  New  York.  In  1886  he  added 
the  princely  gift  of  fifty  thousand  dollars,  and  yet 
again  in  1890,  being  desirous  of  aiding  the  college 
and  at  the  same  time  of  stimulating  the  Baptists  of 
North  Carolina  to  self-help,  INIr,  BostAvick  offered 
to  add  one-half  to  whatever  amount  up  to  fifty  thou- 
sand dollars  might  be  raised  for  the  endowment  by 
March  1,  1891.  When  the  time  expired  there  had 
been  raised  twenty-six  thousand  dollars.  The  in- 
stitution is  at  present  in  a  most  flourishing  condi- 
tion. The  presidents  of  the  college  have  been 
Waite,  Hooper,  Wingate,  Pritchard,  Royall,  and 
Taylor. 

The  proximity  of  Columbian  College  to  Virginia 
and  the  interest  shared  in  that  institution  by  the 


EDUCATIONAL    WOEK  149 

Baptists  of  that  State,  doubtless  had  much  to  do 
with  the  delay  of  the  establishment  of  a  denomina- 
tional school  in  the  State.  But  by  the  year  1830  it 
was  seen  that  Columbian  College  was  inadequate  to 
the  growing  demands  in  Virginia  for  a  better  quali- 
fied ministry.  This  consideration  led  to  the  found- 
ing of  the  Virginia  Baptist  Education  Society,  with 
a  view  of  "  devising  and  proposing  some  plan  for 
the  improvement  of  young  men  who,  in  the  judg- 
ment of  their  churches,  are  called  to  the  work  of 
the  ministry."  Of  this  Society  John  Kerr  became 
the  president  and  James  B.  Taylor  the  secretary. 
A  committee,  composed  of  W.  F.  Broadus,  J.  B. 
Taylor,  J.  B.  Jeter,  and  H.  Keeling,  was  appointed 
to  draw  up  a  plan  and  report  upon  the  expediency 
of  distinct  action  relative  to  providing  means  for 
the  more  efficient  qualification  of  the  ministry.  In 
its  report  the  committee  made  declaration  of  the 
fact  that  it  recognized  the  importance  as  well  as  the 
obligation  of  continued  loyalty  to  Columbian  Col- 
lege. It  further  stated  that  in  its  judgment  it  was 
not  deemed  expedient  to  undertake  the  immediate 
establishment  of  an  institution  of  learning  under 
the  auspices  of  Virginia  Baptists.  As  far  as  the 
committee  would  venture  was  the  suggestion  of  plac- 
ing the  ministerial  beneficiaries  "  in  the  families  of 
experienced  ministering  brethren  whose  education, 
libraries,  and  opportunities  to  give  useful  instruction 
may  enable  them  to  render  essential  service  to  their 
younger   brethren."     With  this    was  coupled    the 


150  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

idea  of  enabling  ministerial  students  to  become  self- 
supporting  by  laboring  in  the  surrounding  regions 
of  country.  But  this  crude  arrangement  was  neces- 
sarily short-lived.  Other  States  were  pressing  for- 
ward in  educational  work  and  their  young  ministers 
were  being  fitted  for  future  labor  under  the  most 
encouraging  conditions  possible.  It  was  soon  dis- 
covered that  if  Virginia  Baptists  were  to  maintain 
the  position  which  they  had  held  for  a  half-century, 
something  more  was  needed  to  be  done  than  to  adopt 
a  haphazard  plan  like  the  one  set  forth,  and  none 
were  more  ready  to  abandon  it  than  the  eminent 
men  who  recommended  it.  That  abandoned,  the 
inevitable  plan  of  a  manual  labor  school  was 
adopted.  A  site  was  bought  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Richmond ;  Robert  Ryland,  a  graduate  from  Co- 
lumbian College,  was  elected  to  preside  over  it ;  and 
the  school  was  duly  named  the  Virginia  Baptist 
Seminary.  Mr.  Ryland  discouraged  the  attempt  to 
organize  a  school  at  once,  but  the  j^opular  current 
in  favor  of  the  prompt  opening  of  such  an  institu- 
tion was  too  strong  to  be  stemmed.  Failing  in  this 
objection  he  sought  to  have  eliminated  from  it  the 
manual  labor  feature  ;  but  he  failed  in  this  also. 
While  he  detected  in  the  existing  plan  elements  of 
failure,  he  wisely  surrendered  his  convictions  and 
awaited  practical  demonstrations  for  a  vindication 
of  his  views.  Mr.  Ryland  soon  illustrated  his  prac- 
tical knowledge  of  the  science  of  agriculture  by 
seeking  to  enrich  a  field  of  corn  with  salt,  placing  a 


EDUCATIONAL    WORK  151 

handful  at  the  root  of  each  stalk  and — killing  it ! 
He  was  not  without  the  greatest  diligence  in  seeking 
to  make  the  enterprise  successful,  but  he  soon  found 
himself  almost  alone  in  his  eiForts,  as  the  denomina- 
tion left  the  institution  largely  to  shift  for  itself. 
After  an  experiment  of  two  years  the  manual  labor 
feature  was  shown  to  be  unpractical,  as  usual,  the 
farm  was  sold,  and  an  attractive  property  was  bought 
within  the  city  limits  of  Richmond.  It  was  not 
until  1840  that  a  college  was  established  by  the 
Baptists  of  Virginia.  Perhaps,  after  all,  there  was 
advantage  in  the  delay,  as  the  denomination  came  to 
have  a  loftier  conception  of  a  college  at  a  later 
period  than  it  evidently  had  fifteen  years  before 
Richmond  College  was  founded.  Additional  advan- 
tage was  gained  by  the  unsurpassed  instruction 
given  at  the  University  of  Virginia,  the  influence 
of  which  was  most  stimulating  and  elevating 
throughout  the  State.  The  leading  denomination 
of  Virginia  with  its  splendid  record  could  not 
afford  to  establish  an  institution  of  inferior  char- 
acter within  so  short  a  distance  of  the  famous  uni- 
versity. 

The  Civil  War  found  Richmond  College  with  an 
endowment  of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  the 
most  of  which  was  lost  in  consequence  of  that  great 
struggle.  Prostrated  as  the  people  were  by  the  war, 
they  rallied  anew  to  the  support  of  Richmond  Col- 
lege, and  in  1866  it  was  enabled  to  open  its  doors 
again  to  students.     Like  other  denominational  col- 


152  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

leges  in  the  South,  Richmond  College  has  been  the 
recipient  of  Northern  benefactions,  without  which  it 
could  not  have  so  speedily  rallied ;  but  wdth  such 
assistance,  it  has  been  placed  upon  a  solid  basis  and 
is  perhaps  the  most  advanced,  in  its  standard  of  in- 
struction, of  all  the  Baptist  colleges  of  the  South. 

The  Baptists  of  Kentucky  were  among  the  first 
of  the  States  of  the  South  to  take  steps  to  found  a 
denominational  school.  A  charter  for  Georgetown 
College,  then  known  as  Georgetown  Literary  and 
Theological  Institution,  w^as  procured  as  early  as 
1829.  Dr.  William  Staughton,  a  minister  and  edu- 
cator of  distinction,  w'ho  had  been  president  of 
Columbian  College,  was  called  to  the  president's 
chair,  but  died  in  Washington  while  on  his  way  to 
Kentucky  to  assume  the  office  to  which  he  had  been 
elected.  In  1830  Dr.  Joel  S.  Bacon  was  elected  to 
succeed  him.  Dr.  Bacon  at  once  found  himself  in- 
volved in  serious  complications  with  the  Disciples, 
w^io  were  at  that  time  breaking  with  the  Baptists 
throughout  the  State,  and  wdiose  claims  against  the 
school  were  such  as  to  plunge  it  into  litigation. 
After  struggling  against  adverse  conditions  for  two 
years,  he  resigned.  The  institution  dropped  to  the 
level  of  a  high  school,  in  which  condition  it  re- 
mained until  1838.  Rockwood  Giddings  having 
now  become  president,  he  addressed  himself  to  the 
work  of  procuring  subscriptions  for  an  endowment, 
and  raised  eighty  thousand  dollars.  In  1840  Dr. 
Malcom  succeeded  Giddings  as  president,  and  raised 


EDUCATIONAL    WORK  153 

the  standard  of  the  college  above  that  which  it  had 
ever  enjoyed.  Then  followed  the  presidencies  of 
Drs.  Reynolds,  Campbell,  Crawford,  Manly,  and 
Dudley — the  last  named  being  a  descendant  of  the 
famous  pioneer  preacher,  Ambrose  Dudley.  George- 
town College  is  at  present  presided  over  by  Dr.  A. 
C.  Davidson  and  is  in  a  most  prosperous  condition. 

Bethel  College,  in  the  same  State,  was  projected 
by  Bethel  Association  in  1849.  Begun  as  a  high 
school,  it  was  elevated  to  the  standard  of  a  college 
in  1856,  when  Mr.  Blewett  became  its  first  presi- 
dent. With  the  exception  of  two  years  during  the 
war,  the  school  has  been  in  successful  operation 
ever  since  it  began.  Its  presidents  have  been 
George  Hunt,  Professor  Rust,  Noah  K.  Davis, 
LL.  D.,  at  present  professor  of  Moral  Philosophy  in 
the  University  of  Virginia ;  Leslie  Waggener, 
sometime  president  of  the  University  of  Texas ; 
and  Dr.  W.  S.  Ryland,  who  is  the  present  incum- 
bent of  the  presidential  chair.  The  college  enjoys 
an  endowment  of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars. 

In  1845  the  Western  Baptist  Theological  Insti- 
tute was  located  at  Covington,  Kentucky,  and  had 
the  misfortune  to  be  an  object  of  contention  as  long 
as  it  existed.  Located  on  the  border  at  a  time 
when  sectional  passion  was  highest,  it  was  destined 
to  be  short-lived.  It  ran  a  troublous  course  of  ten 
years,  when  the  valuable  property  was  sold  and  the 
proceeds  were  divided  between  the  irreconcilable 
elements.     The    Ministerial    Education    Society    of 


154  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

Kentucky  was  constituted  in  1844,  and  as  is  indi- 
cated by  its  name,  its  object  was  "  to  aid  in  acquir- 
ing a  suitable  education,  such  indigent,  pious  young 
men  of  the  Baptist  denomination  as  shall  give  satis- 
factory evidences  to  the  churches  of  which  they  are 
members  that  they  are  called  of  God  to  the  gospel 
ministry."  Meagreness  of  resources  limited  the 
operations  of  this  society,  yet  in  a  quiet  way  it 
rendered  much  valuable  aid  to  young  men  fitting 
themselves  for  the  ministry.  The  final  success  of 
Georgetown  College  obviated  the  necessity  of  the 
continued  existence  of  the  society. 

Like  Kentucky,  Tennessee  had  two  institutions 
of  learning  belonging  to  the  Baptists — Union  Uni- 
versity, at  Murfreesboro,  and  Carson  College,  in 
JeiFerson  County.  After  the  accomplishment  of 
some  excellent  work  under  President  J.  H.  Eaton, 
and  Dr.  J.  M.  Pendleton  as  theological  professor. 
Union  University  became  extinct.  Its  career  was 
doubtless  shortened  by  the  Civil  War.  In  1873 
another  institution  was  founded  at  Jackson,  known 
as  the  Southwestern  University,  Avhich  is  now  under 
the  successful  management  of  President  M.  C. 
Savage. 

Carson-Newman  College,  formerly  Carson,  was 
founded  near  the  town  of  Mossy  Creek  in  1850. 
It  was  chartered  under  the  patronage  of  the  Gen- 
eral Association  of  the  State  and  derived  its  name 
from  its  chief  benefactor,  Hon.  James  H.  Carson, 
who  bequeathed  to  the  institution  fifteen  thousand 


EDUCATIONAL    WORK  155 

dollars,  the  interest  of  which  was  to  be  used  in  the 
education  of  young  ministers.  The  institution  has 
of  late  years  come  into  the  possession  of  a  partial 
endowment,  and  is  at  present  presided  over  by 
President  J.  T.  Henderson. 

Early  in  the  thirties,  the  Baptists  of  Alabama  cA-JLa. 
began  the  agitation  of  the  question  of  establishing  a 
denominational  school,  suggested,  as  in  other  States, 
by  the  growth  of  the  Baptists  and  the  inefficiency  of 
their  ministry.  In  resolving  to  establish  such  a 
school  the  Baptists  of  Alabama  adopted  the  manual 
labor  plan,  in  spite  of  its  failures  in  other  States. 
At  this  time  the  leaders  of  the  denomination  were 
D.  P.  Bestor,  Hosea  Holcombe,  Alex.  Travis,  J. 
H.  DeVotie,  and  A.  G.  McGraw.  In  1834  pro- 
vision was  made  for  the  contemplated  school  to  go 
into  operation  as  soon  as  practicable  with  two  de- 
partments, literary  and  theological.  W.  L,  Willi- 
ford  became  the  first  principal,  and  D.  P.  Bestor 
was  elected  to  deliver  lectures  upon  theology. 
After  a  brief  career  the  enterprise  failed,  and  in 
consequence,  the  Baptists  of  Alabama  found  them- 
selves loaded  with  debt,  after  wrestling  with  which 
for  a  period,  the  denomination  sold  the  property 
and  for  a  number  of  years  abandoned  the  matter  of 
education  altogether.  Meanwhile  the  deficiency  was 
met  as  far  as  was  practicable  by  supplying  young  min- 
isters with  theological  works.  Driven  by  sheer  neces- 
sity to  establish  a  school  to  meet  the  urgent  demands 
of  the  denomination,  Howard  College  was  organized 


156  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

in  1842.  Under  the  able  management  of  S.  S. 
Sherman,  it  was  gradually  developed  into  a  respecta- 
ble collegiate  institution.  From  the  period  of  its 
establishment  to  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War  it 
was  ardently  fostered  by  the  Baptists  of  Alabama. 
After  an  eventful  history  of  almost  fifty  years,  the 
college  was  removed  from  Marion,  its  original 
location,  to  East  Lake,  near  Birmingham,  where  it 
now  is.  At  the  outbreak  of  hostilities  in  1861,  the 
college  was  in  the  enjoyment  of  a  handsome  endow- 
ment, which  was  entirely  wrecked  by  the  war. 
Efforts  to  endow  the  institution  within  the  last 
twenty-five  years  have  been  unavailing.  In  spite 
of  its  vicissitudes  the  college  has  continued  to  do  ex- 
cellent work.  Its  presidents  have  been  S.  S.  Sher- 
man, H.  Talbird,  S.  R.  Freeman,  J.  L.  M.  Curry, 
J.  T.  Murfee,  B.  F.  Riley,  and  A.  W.  McGaha. 
Not  unlike  that  of  the  other  States,  the  educa- 
.,  J .  tional  work  of  the  Mississippi  Baptists  was  at  first 
7'^"*  fragmentary  and   unsatisfactory.     The  State  Con- 

vention was  founded  upon  the  dual  idea  of  education 
and  missions.  The  school  which  ultimately  came 
into  the  possession  of  the  Baptists  had  rather  a 
checkered  career.  Chartered  in  1826  as  Hempstead 
Academy,  its  name  was  changed  by  legislative  en- 
actment the  following  year  to  that  of  Mississippi 
Academy,  for  the  endowment  of  which  the  Board  of 
Trustees  was  authorized  to  raise  by  lottery  twenty- 
five  thousand  dollars.  For  four  years  the  rents 
arising  from  thirty-six  sections  of  the  school  fund 


EDUCATIONAL,    WORK  157 

donated  by  the  national  government  to  the  State 
was  given  to  the  academy.  In  1830  the  name  of 
Mississippi  College  was  given  to  the  institution,  and 
in  1842  it  was  transferred  to  the  Presbyterians, 
who  retained  it  just  eight  years.  Having  been  sur- 
rendered to  the  State  at  a  time  when  the  Baptist 
Convention  of  Mississippi  was  assembled  at  the  cap- 
ital, the  college  was  tendered  to  that  body  and  ac- 
cepted. Once  in  their  possession,  the  Baptists 
promptly  placed  an  agent  in  the  field,  who  raised  for 
its  endowment  within  ten  years  one  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars  in  cash,  and  thirty  thousand  dollars  in 
subscriptions.  With  the  war  came  a  suspension  of 
operations  and  the  destruction  of  the  endowment. 
In  1867  Dr.  Hillman  became  president,  and  found 
the  institution  encumbered  with  a  debt  of  ten 
thousand  dollars,  which  he  promptly  liquidated, 
placed  the  buildings  in  repair,  and  by  1873  raised 
an  endowment  of  forty  thousand  dollars.  The  col- 
lege is  located  at  Clinton  and  is  a  largely  attended 
and  popular  institution. 

Until  a  comparatively  late  period  the  Baptists  of 
Louisiana  were  dependent  upon  institutions  in  other 
States  for  the  education  of  their  youth.  In  the 
pioneer  movement  of  the  denomination  in  this  State 
in  the  matter  of  education,  there  was  an  attempt 
made  to  place  an  institution  upon  a  higher  plane 
than  had  been  made  in  most  of  the  other  States  of 
the  South.  A  full-fledged  university,  at  least  in 
name,  was  at  first  contemplated  at  Mount  Lebanon, 


158  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

to  be  known  as  the  Mount  Lebanon  University. 
This  enterprise  was  projected  by  Dr.  B.  Egan,  who 
was  warmly  supported  by  Rev.  George  W.  Bains, 
the  pastor  of  the  church  at  Mount  Lebanon.  For 
five  years,  beginning  with  1847,  the  subject  was 
agitated.  Nor  was  anything  done  as  late  as  1852, 
save  to  determine  the  establishment  of  a  school  of 
high  grade  "  with  a  theological  department  con- 
nected therewith  .  .  ,  and  as  auxiliary  to  the  object, 
a  female  seminary."  ^ 

Rev.  W.  H.  Bayless  was  chosen  financial  agent 
by  a  newly  organized  Board  of  Trustees,  and  soon 
raised  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  sixty-eight 
dollars  and  twelve  cents.  A  lot  was  procured  and 
a  building  of  sufficient  capacity  to  accommodate  two 
hundred  students  was  arranged  for.  William  E. 
Paxton,  A.  M.,  was  chosen  to  institute  the  new 
enterprise  by  opening  the  school  for  the  preparatory 
department.  This  he  did  in  March,  1853,  with  an 
attendance  of  about  twenty-five  students.  At  a 
subsequent  meeting  of  the  State  Convention  in  July 
the  sum  of  five  thousand  two  hundred  and  eighty 
dollars  was  subscribed  to  the  theological  endowment 
fund. 

In  1856  the  collegiate  department  w^as  organized 
and  Dr.  Bartholomew  Egan  was  chosen  as  president 
with  a  corps  of  four  professors.  Both  the  president 
and  the  professor  of  theology  agreed  to  serve  gratui- 
tously, while  the  other  instructors  served  in  the  pre- 

1  Paxton's  "  History  of  Louisiana  Baptists,"  p.  446. 


EDUCATIONAL   WORK  159 

paratory  department.  Commendable  zeal  was  mani- 
fested by  all  engaged  in  the  struggling  enterprise, 
and  by  the  close  of  1857  a  fund  equal  to  twenty-five 
thousand  dollars  had  been  raised.  The  services  of 
Rev.  Jesse  Hartwell,  d.  d.,  as  president,  were  pro- 
cured in  1858.  Strangely  enough,  in  1859  the  Bap- 
tist State  Convention  of  Louisiana  memorialized  the 
legislature  for  aid,  and  received  as  a  donation  from 
the  State  treasury  ten  thousand  dollars.^ 

President  Hartwell  dying  about  this  time.  Rev. 
W.  Carey  Crane  was  secured  to  succeed  him  at  the 
head  of  the  college.  The  collegiate  year  of  1861 
closed  with  one  hundred  and  twenty-seven  students 
enrolled.  The  Civil  War  checked  the  growth  of 
the  enterprise,  and  finally  the  school  was  suspended. 
The  building  was  impressed  by  the  Confederate 
authorities  into  service  as  a  hospital  and  was  thus 
used  until  the  close  of  the  war.  Ineifectual  efforts 
were  made  to  revive  the  school  after  the  close  of  the 
struggle,  under  the  less  pretentious  title  of  a  high 
school,  but  in  the  chaotic  condition  of  the  country  it 
collapsed  and  was  finally  abandoned. 

In  avoiding  the  Scylla  of  a  manual  labor  school, 
which  was  for  many  years  a  favorite  project  in  so 
many  of  the  States  of  the  South,  the  Baptists  of 
Louisiana  had  foundered  in  the  Charybdis  of  a  uni- 
versity enterprise. 

With  less  success  and  far  less  business  sagacity 
was  another  university  undertaken  by  the  Baptists, 

^  Paxton's  "  History  of  Louisiana  Baptists,"  p.  480. 


160  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

at  Shreveport,  in  1870.  The  Helm  School  property, 
embracing  seventy  acres  of  land,  was  purchased  in 
the  suburbs  of  Shreveport,  with  a  view  of  establish- 
ing a  university.  Unfortunately,  alike  for  the  pro- 
jectors and  the  Southern  Life  Insurance  Company, 
policies  were  taken  in  that  corporation  in  favor 
of  the  university,  and  the  insurance  company  ad- 
vanced the  money  with  which  to  erect  a  college 
building.  The  school  opened  in  1871.  Three  years 
later  no  building  had  been  erected,  the  railway 
which  was  to  connect  the  school  with  the  city  was 
yet  unbuilt,  business  depression  came,  the  yellow 
fever  ravaged  the  city,  the  money  panic  of  1874 
swept  on  apace,  the  insurance  company  by  whose 
generous  aid  the  institution  was  to  be  set  upon  its 
feet  failed,  all  of  which  was  succeeded  by  the 
mechanics'  liens  and  the  foreclosure  of  the  mortgage 
created  for  the  money  already  borrowed.  Thus 
ended  the  short  but  eventful  career  of  Shreveport 
University. 

The  chief  institution  of  the  Baptists  of  Louisiana 
at  present  is  Keachi  College,  a  co-educational  school. 
The  Keachi  Female  College  and  the  Keachi  Acad- 
emy for  boys  were  united  in  1879,  with  Rev.  J.  H. 
Tucker  as  president.  Dying  in  1881,  President 
Tucker  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  T.  N.  Coleman,  who 
was  followed  by  Rev.  C.  P.  Fountain,  and  he  in 
turn  by  Rev.  C.  W.  Tomkies,  the  present  incumbent 
of  the  administrative  chair. 

The  Baptists  of  Florida  were  reduced  to  divers 


EDUCATIONAL    WORK  161 

makeshifts  for  education  until  1887,  when  Mr. 
John  B.  Stetson,  of  Philadelphia,  founded  at  Deland 
"The  John  B.  Stetson  University."  Though  the 
youngest  of  the  denominational  schools  of  the  States 
of  the  South,  it  has  made  a  most  honorable  record 
since  it  was  founded.  John  F.  Forbes,  A.  m.,  ph.  d., 
is  the  gifted  and  progressive  president  of  Stetson 
University. 

Columbian  University,  Washington,  D.  C,  has  had 
a  unique  history.  It  was  conceived  by  Luther  Rice 
as  a  National  Baptist  institution,  which  should  derive 
great  importance  from  its  surroundings  in  the  na- 
tion's capital.  The  chief  purpose  of  the  devoted 
founder  was  to  link  into  closest  intimacy  the  great 
interests  of  education  and  missions  in  such  way  that 
they  might  mutually  aid  and  supplement  each  other. 
The  original  conception  of  such  a  plan  was  doubtless 
due,  in  part,  to  the  missionary  enthusiasm  aroused 
by  the  enlistment  of  American  Baptists  in  foreign 
mission  work  in  Burma  and  partly  to  the  vast  ad- 
vantages arising  from  the  availability  of  educational 
appliances  at  Washington.  With  consuming  zeal 
Rice  undertook  to  press  the  claims  of  these  great  in- 
terests in  conjunction,  but  the  public  mind  failed  to 
grasp  them  in  their  dual  capacity.  Such  enthusiasm 
was  aroused  in  behalf  of  the  national  Baptist  uni- 
versity that  it  became  a  rival  of  foreign  missions 
rather  than  a  twin  sister.  For  three  years  the  de- 
nomination. North  and  South,  was  stirred  by  ap- 
peals in  behalf  of  Columbian   University.     Local 


1G2  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

societies  were  organized  throughout  the  country  in 
the  interest  of  the  national  university,  and  large 
sums  of  money  were  raised  before  the  meeting  of  the 
Triennial  Convention  for  1820.  At  the  session  of 
that  body  the  matter  of  a  practical  union  of  educa- 
tion and  missions  was  maturely  considered,  and  it 
was  decided  that  education  in  America  and  missions 
in  Burma  lay  so  far  apart  that  they  could  never  be 
associated  in  a  practical  plan  for  the  furtherance  of 
both,  and  a  disjunction  of  these  interests  promptly 
followed.  Financial  embarrassments  soon  menaced 
the  college  and  led  to  the  suspension  of  its  work  in 
1827,  only  to  be  revived,  however,  the  following 
year  under  the  new  administration  of  Dr.  Stephen 
Chapin  as  president,  who  was  its  presiding  officer 
for  fifteen  years,  and  who  not  only  cancelled  the  in- 
debtedness, but  revived  the  institution. 

Upon  the  retirement  of  Dr.  Chapin  from  the  pres- 
idential office.  Professor  William  Ruggles  was  placed 
at  the  head  of  the  institution  temporarily,  for  in 
1843  Dr.  Joel  S.  Bacon  became  president.  He  found 
the  institution  without  debt,  and  equally  without  en- 
dowment. Dr.  Bacon  remained  president  until  1854, 
when  Professor  Ruggles  was  again  called,  for  a  sea- 
son, to  the  head  of  the  college.  During  the  admin- 
istration of  Dr.  Bacon  the  work  of  endowment  was 
prosecuted  at  different  times  by  Drs.  A.  M.  Poin- 
dexter  and  William  F.  Broadus,  of  Virginia,  the  lat- 
ter procuring  subscriptions  to  the  amount  of  twenty 
thousand  dollars,  and  by  that  means   secured   the 


EDUCATIONAL   WORK  163 

fulfillment  of  a  conditional  promise  of  John  Withers, 
of  Alexandria,  Virginia,  for  an  equal  amount.  Rev. 
G.  W.  Samson,  d.  d.,  became  president  in  1859,  and 
maintained  the  college  with  signal  ability  during  the 
troublous  period  of  the  war.  In  spite  of  the  diffi- 
culties of  the  peculiarly  trying  period  during  which 
he  was  president,  both  the  efficiency  and  the  material 
value  of  the  institution  were  greatly  enhanced.  Dr. 
Samson  resigning  in  1871,  J.  C.  Welling,  ll.  d., 
became  president.  In  1873,  Hon.  W.  W.  Corcoran 
agreed  to  give  to  the  university  two  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars  provided  its  friends  would  raise  an 
additional  one  hundred  thousand  dollars.  This  con- 
dition was  complied  with  and  the  institution  entered 
upon  a  new  career  of  prosperity.  Rev.  B.  L.  Whit- 
man, D.  D.,  is  now  (1898)  the  president  of  the  Uni- 
versity, and  all  indications  point  to  an  unprecedented 
prosperity  on  the  part  of  the  institution. 

The  institutions  for  the  education  of  girls  and 
young  women  conducted  under  the  auspices,  either 
directly  or  indirectly,  of  the  Baptists  of  the  South, 
are  somewhat  numerous. 

Some  of  these  schools  sustain  organic  connection 
with  the  State  Conventions,  while  others  are  the 
result  of  private  or  local  enterprise.  The  latter 
class  are  Baptist  only  by  virtue  of  the  fact  that 
their  founders,  or  owners,  are  Baptists.  It  is  im- 
possible, for  obvious  reasons,  to  give  to  these  schools 
equal  prominence  with  those  which  have  been  estab- 


164  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

lished  directly  by  the  denomination  for  the  other 
sex.  The  schools  to  which  attention  has  been  given 
in  the  present  chapter  have  been  founded  primarily 
for  the  purpose  of  affording  scholastic  advantages  to 
the  young  ministry  of  each  State,  while  the  schools 
for  young  women  have  come  in  response  to  a  demon- 
stration of  public  sentiment  for  womanly  culture, 
and  usually  irrespective  of  denominational  lines. 

It  is  not  practicable  in  a  work  of  restricted  com- 
pass like  this  to  enlarge  upon  the  histories  of  these 
valuable  schools  for  young  women,  but  in  an  appen- 
dix, pages  361-363,  attention  is  called  to  such  as 
come  practically  or  entirely  under  the  direction  of 
the  denomination  in  the  several  States  of  the  South. 


CHAPTER  VI 

DIVEEGENT   VIEWS 

WHILE  essentially  one,  the  Baptists  of  the  States 
of  the  South  have  never  been  in  sentiment  a 
unit.  There  have  been  differences  of  views  among 
them  from  the  beginning.  Already  occasions  have 
arisen  for  calling  attention  to  the  divergent  views  of 
the  early  Baptists  of  Virginia,  the  Carolinas,  and 
Georgia.  The  original  divergence  of  views  came 
between  the  General  and  the  Particular  Baptists, 
the  former  advocating  the  doctrine  of  the  possibility 
of  universal  redemption  in  contradistinction  to  the 
doctrine  of  a  limited  redemption,  or  the  salvation  of 
the  elect  as  held  by  the  Particulars. 

Adherents  to  both  of  these  views  came  among 
the  earliest  Baptists  from  beyond  the  Atlantic.  The 
principles  and  practices  of  the  General  Baptists 
were  characterized  by  more  or  less"Taxness.  Re- 
quiring no  experience  of  grace,  nor  statement  of 
doctrine,  the  General  Baptists  were  reckless  in  the 
administration  of  the  ordinances.  They  were  im- 
mersionists,  and  this  was  about  the  only  point  upon 
which  they  and  the  Particular  BajDtists  were  agreed. 
The  easy-going  requirements  of  the  General  Bap- 
tists involving  little  or  no  renunciation  of  one's 
'  165 


166    HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

former  life,  made  them  papular.  Their  most  noted 
representative  in  the  South,  in  its  earliest  history, 
was  Paul  Palmer.  Unfortunately  but  little  is 
known  of  this  remarkable  man,  but  the  indications 
are  that  he  came  direct  from  England  to  North 
Carolina.  While  to  him  is  usually  accorded  the  honor 
of  being  the  pioneer  Baptist  preacher  of  North  Caro- 
lina, the  strong  probability  is  that  he  was  attracted 
to  that  province  by  the  Baptist  churches  already  ex- 
isting, of  which  we  have  no  definite  record.  The 
remarkable  exemption  of  the  Baptists  of  North 
Carolina  from  persecution  possibly  served  as  an  in- 
ducement to  the  liberty-loving  Palmer,  whose  great- 
est delight  was  found  in  preaching.  The  views 
held  by  Palmer  were  in  entire  accord  with  those 
held  by  the  Arminian  Baptists  of  England.  Wield- 
ing an  immense  inBuence  over  the  colonists  of 
North  Carolina,  Palmer  sowed  broadcast  the  seeds 
of  Arminianism  in  the  early  churches  of  the  prov- 
ince. But  after  the  advent  of  Whitefield  the  tide 
was  turned  toward  Calvinism.  Alike  from  two 
centers  of  influence,  Philadelphia  and  Charleston, 
there  went  forth  Calvinistic  missionaries,  and  the 
result  was  a  rapid  and  radical  change  to  the  stand- 
ard of  the  Particulars. 

The  next  division  of  sentiment  was  that  which 
existed  between  the  Separate  and  the  Regular  Bap- 
tists, the  former  being  really  Calvinistic  Methodists, 
and  composed  chiefly  of  Wiiitefield's  followers. 
They  sprang  up  in  1750.  and  were  first  called  New 


DIVERGENT    VIEWS  167 

Lights.  Subsequently,  however,  they  were  organ- 
ized into  separate  societies  by  Shubael  Stearns,  and 
because  of  this  independency  of  organization  came 
to  be  called  Separates.  A  year  after  he  originated 
this  new  sect  Stearns  became  a  Baptist,  as  we  have 
already  seen,  and  most  of  the  Separates  followed 
him  into  that  denomination.  When  this  great  leader 
adopted  the  views  of  the  Baptists,  the  Separates  as 
a  sect  became  extinct.  They,  however,  carried  their 
distinctive  views  with  them  into  the  Baptist  fold, 
which  views  were  that  believers  are  guided  by  the 
immediate  teachings  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  such  super- 
natural indications  being  regarded  by  them  as  par- 
taking of  the  nature  of  inspiration,  and  above, 
though  not  contrary  to,  reason.  The  Separate  Bap- 
tists were  by  far  the  most  conspicuous  opponents  of 
the  establishment  during  the  period  of  persecution 
in  Virginia.  It  was  the  representatives  of  the 
Separate  Baptists  who  were  imprisoned  in  the  jails 
of  Virginia,  who  were  whipped,  and  who,  in  spite 
of  these  dire  persecutions,  preached  from  their 
prison  windows.  In  1787  a  union  was  effected  be- 
tween the  Separate  and  Regular  Baptists  upon  a 
basis  mutually  satisfactory,  and  both  designations, 
as  independent  branches,  were  discontinued. 

But  the  denomination  was  destined  to  still  greater 
distractions  and  fiercer  internal  dissensions  than 
were  produced  by  original  divisions.  As  has 
already  been  shown  there  was  much  local  evangeli- 
zation   accomplished    by    the    Baptists    during    the 


168  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

pioneer  period  of  Southern  history.  In  the  upper 
and  older  regions  of  the  South  the  Separate  Baptists 
carried  with  fervid  zeal  the  gospel  in  the  most  re- 
mote settlements.  With  increase  of  numbers,  es- 
pecially in  the  populous  centers,  came  a  desire  for 
improvement  in  ministerial  qualifications,  pastoral 
/  compensation,  and  enlarged  ideas  of  missionary 
operation.  The  advocacy  of  such  views  aroused 
opposition  which  manifested  itself  in  a  general  anti  - 
missionary  spirit  which  did  much  to  impede  the 
progress  of  the  Baptists  in  the  South.  This  class 
of  opponents  threw  themselves  directly  in  the  way 
of  all  efforts  to  develop  the  denomination  along 
educational  lines.  It  required  a  hard  and  protracted 
struggle  to  establish  a  school  of  learning  of  any 
character  in  the  South.  While  ministerial  educa- 
tion was  regarded  by  the  most  prominent  among  the 
Baptists  as  being  imperative,  it  was  this  which  ex- 
cited the  most  strenuous  opposition  on  the  part  of 
^         the  ignorant. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  see  that  the  logical  conse- 
quence of  all  this  was  the  factious  and  fiery  opposi- 
tion subsequently  raised  against  all  agencies  for  the 
spread  of  the  gospel.  If  human  agency  was  ob- 
jectionable in  the  equipment  of  the  sacred  ministry, 
it  was  equally  so  in  the  creation  of  means  for  dis- 
seminating the  sacred  gospel.  Hence  Sunday- 
schools,  Bible  societies,  and  mission  Boards  were 
ranked  in  the  same  objectionable  category  with  min- 
isterial education.     It  was  at  this  point  that  the 


DIVERGENT    VIEWS  169 

fiercest  struggle  began  on  the  part  of  the  Baptists 
of  the  South,  and  it  may  be  said  that  it  has  been 
continued  to  the  present  time.  As  local  missionaries 
the  Baptists  have  never  been  surpassed  by  any  other 
people  in  the  South.  Their  ministry  has  been  the 
most  active  and  self-sacrificing  in  giving  the  gospel 
to  the  destitute  regions  ;  but  if  the  effort  were  made 
by  the  most  progressive  to  urge  the  claims  of  the 
remoter  portions  of  the  world,  firm  opposition  would 
ensue.  Planting  themselves  steadfastly  in  this  posi- 
tion, those  of  more  restricted  views  waged  a  steady 
and  relentless  war  throughout  the  States  of  the  South 
against  foreign  missions. 

The  strength  of  this  opposition  was  increased  by 
the  appearance  of  two  journals  upon  the  scene, 
"  The  Signs  of  the  Times "  and  ''  The  Primitive 
Baptist."  These  factious  organs  came  from  States 
outside  the  South,  and  their  wild  statements  were 
accepted  by  the  gullible  multitude  as  if  they  were 
oracles.  The  anti-missionary  element  of  the  de- 
nomination insisted  upon  being  called  "  Old  Side " 
or  "  Primitive  Baptists,"  the  obvious  purpose  being 
to'S-ssumetolKemselves  the  original  principles  of  the 
denomination,  and  to  cast  aspersion  upon  such  as 
had  departed  from  the  faith  and  practice  of  the 
original  standards  by  the  introduction  of  new-fangled 
practices. 

The  most  ridiculous  assumptions  were  entertained 
by  these  anti-eifort  Baptists,  and  fostered  by  the 
organs  already  named,  which  found    their  way  at 


170  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

,  stated  intervals  into  the  South.  One  of  these  sheets 
/  insisted  that  the  money  collected  by  pastors,  mission 
agents,  and  others,  was  never  applied  to  the  objects 
for  which  it  was  claimed  to  be  raised,  but  was  de- 
voted to  schemes  of  speculation  in  the  cities  of  the 
North.  That  was  equaled  only  by  the  following 
piece  of  vaporing  which  is  a  literal  quotation  from 
the  Minutes  of  the  Pilgrim's  Rest  Association  of 
Alabama : 

We  view  theological  schools  unwarranted  in  the  word 
of  God  and  dangerous  to  religious  liberty.  And  wher- 
ever they  have  been  organized,  whether  Jewish,  Pagan, 
Heathen,  Roman  Catholic,  or  Christian,  they  have  been 
a  source  of  persecution  and  bloodshed  on  the  church  of 
Christ. 

And  this  effusion  was  the  product  of  one  of  their 
leaders.     Another  of  their  ministers  wrote  : 

Do  not  forget  the  enemy  (the  missionaries) ;  bear  them 
in  mind ;  the  howling,  destructive  wolves,  the  raven- 
ous dogs,  and  the  filthy  and  their  numerous  whelps. 
By  a  minute  observation  and  the  consultation  of  the 
sacred,  never-failing,  descriptive  chart,  even  their 
physiognomy  in  dress,  mien,  and  carriage,  and  many 
other  indented,  indelible,  descriptive  marks,  too  tedious 
at  present  to  write.  The  wolfish  smell  is  enough  to 
alarm,  to  create  suspicion,  and  to  ascertain  ;  the  dogs' 
teeth  are  noted,  and  the  wolves  for  their  peculiar  and 
distinct  howl,  etc. 

Whatever  there  may  or  may  not  be  in  this  jargon, 
there  can  be  no  doubt  of  its  bitterness  and  violence 


DIVERGENT    VIEWS  171 

against  mission  agents.  One  of  their  number 
asserted  on  one  occasion  that  if  an  angel  should 
come  from  heaven  and  declare  the  missionary  cause 
was  of  God  he  would  not  believe  it.  Where  igno- 
rance, prejudice,  and  blasphemy  were  dominant  in 
such  a  host  as  had  been  gathered  into  the  Baptist 
churches  throughout  the  South  it  is  not  a  matter  of 
wonder  that  the  development  of  the  missionary 
spirit  had  been  slow. 

But  unawed  by  these  demonstrations,  the  advo- 
cates of  missions  were  firm  and  pronounced  in  the 
enunciation  of  their  principles.  The  two  wings  be- 
came more  separated  as  the  intensity  of  sentiment 
grew.  There  was,  however,  a  perceptible  growth 
of  the  missionary  spirit  and  a  corresponding  decline 
in  that  of  the  opponents  of  missions.  If  the  in- 
crease encouraged  and  emboldened  the  one  the  de- 
crease made  the  other  more  obdurate  and  reckless. 
An  occasional  break  would  occur  in  the  ranks  of  the 
opponents  and  result  in  new  accessions  to  the  mis- 
sionary Baptists.  The  change  of  sentiment,  when 
it  came,  was  favorable  to  missions.  There  was, 
however,  one  extraordinary  exception  to  this  rule  in 
Tennessee,  where  there  was  a  decided  reaction  against 
missions.  It  seems  that  Luther  Rice,  during  his 
tours  of  the  South,  had  succeeded  in  arousing  much 
zeal  in  missions  among  the  churches  of  Tennessee. 
But  about  1820  the  current  of  sentiment  changed 
and  the  reaction  assumed  a  most  malignant  form. 
Indeed,  so  serious  did  the  opposition  become  that  it 


172   HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

is  said,  "  not  a  man  ventured  to  open  his  mouth  in 
favor  of  any  benevolent  enterprise  or  action."  The 
result  was  that  the  work  of  organisation  effected  by 
Rice  went  to  pieces,  a  deplorably  chaotic  condition 
in  the  churches  followed,  the  friends  of  the  opposi- 
tion rallied,  and  the  cause  of  missions  was  for  a 
long  time  paralyzed.  The  influence  of  this  reaction 
spread  into  adjoining  regions.  Largely  in  conse- 
quence of  this  the  churches  of  North  Alabama  almost 
without  exception  became  anti-missionary. 

The  lack  of  interest  in  missions  has  been  accounted 
for  in  various  ways. 

It  has  been  alleged  that  the  illiteracy  of  the 
masses  of  the  people  was  a  serious  barrier,  which 
was  enhanced  by  the  fact  that  their  time  was  so  ab- 
sorbed in  clearing  the  land  and  bringing  it  into  cul- 
tivation. Further,  that  the  emphasis  given  to  hyper- 
Calvinism,  which  was  pushed  to  such  ridiculous 
conclusions  as  to  disparage  all  human  effort,  was  a 
serious  obstruction  to  the  progress  of  missions. 
Under  such  an  influence  as  that  exerted  by  a  strong- 
willed  and  illiterate  ministry,  it  is  easy  to  see  how 
the  hyper-Calvinists  would  come  to  prevail. 

Again,  the  aggressive  movements  of  the  Meth- 
odists, the  Cumberland  Presbyterians,  and  the 
Disciples,  with  their  Arminian  teaching  stiffened  the 
resistance  of  the  hyper-Calvinistic  Baptists,  and 
thus  impaired  the  possibility  of  commanding  the 
necessary  means  for  missionary  enterprise.  Lastly, 
the  activity  of  Daniel  Parker,  the  apostle  of  opposi- 


DIVERGENT    VIEWS  173 

tion  to  missions  was  a  most  formidable  obstruction 
to  the  development  of  the  spirit  of  missions. 

To  these  may  be  aptly  added  that  of  worldliness, 
which  grew  apace  with  the  development  of  the 
country  and  the  accumulation  of  wealth.  Any  pre- 
text was  welcomed  which  served  to  lessen  the  out- 
flow of  money  from  private  coffers. 

Disorder  and  dissension  reigned  among  the 
churches  and  Associations  of  the  South  until  about 
1836  or  1838,  which  time  is  generally  regarded  as 
the  period  of  "  the  great  split."  By  this  time  the 
anti-mission  forces  had  become  very  hostile,  and  in- 
sisted upon  a  withdrawal  from  all  churches  and 
Associations  which  favored  missions.  This  cleavage 
was  most  fortunate.  The  separation  was  the  dawn 
of  a  better  day  to  the  missionary  Baptist  churches  of 
the  South.  The  difference  between  the  histories  of 
the  two  branches  of  the  Baptist  family  is  most  in- 
structive. The  one  has  grown  with  enlightenment 
and  development,  has  founded  and  maintained  its 
schools  of  learning,  has  established  a  most  reputable 
denominational  press,  has  produced  a  type  of  schol- 
arship which  is  equal  to  that  of  the  most  advanced, 
has  planted  its  churches  in  the  most  commanding 
centers,  and  has  sent  its  missionaries  to  the  farthest 
regions  of  the  globe.  The  other  has  steadily  kept 
itself  in  the  remote  rural  regions,  beyond  the  con- 
fines of  enlightenment  and  progress. 

Another  most  fruitful  source  of  disturbance  among 
the  churches  of  the  South  was  the  promulgation  of 


174  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

the  views  of  Alexander  Campbell,  who  made  his 
advent  as  the  founder  of  a  new  sect  during  the  anti- 
missionary  agitation.  Indeed,  as  far  as  he  could, 
Mr.  Campbell  appropriated  the  disturbance  to  the 
furtherance  of  his  own  views.  He  coincided  with 
the  anti-mission  elements,  both  in  their  opposition 
to  missions  and  to  pastoral  support..  Through  his 
organ,  "The  Christian  Baptist,"  a  small  religious 
monthly,  which  appeared  first  in  1823,  Mr. 
Campbell,  with  an  exceedingly  pretentious  regard 
for  literal  conformity  to  Bible  standards,  put  him- 
self into  direct  alliance  with  the  opponents  of  mis- 
sions, Bible  societies,  education  societies.  Boards, 
and,  indeed,  of  all  evangelical  agencies.  Possessed 
of  a  voluble  tongue  and  disputatious  spirit,  he  soon 
won  his  way  to  local  renown  as  a  debater.  Making 
a  preaching  tour  through  the  States  of  Kentucky 
and  Tennessee  as  far  South  as  Nashville,  Mr. 
Campbell  created  an  ovation,  and  won  for  himself 
considerable  distinction.^  This  w^as  the  beginning 
of  a  notable  career.  Adroit  in  argument,  incisive 
in  sarcasm  and  caricature,  shrewd  in  repartee,  and 
possessed  of  an  overweening  confidence  in  his  ability, 
Mr.  Campbell  was  a  polemic  Ajax  in  the  region 
where  he  began  the  propagation  of  his  tenets.  Aban- 
doning the  beaten  tracks  of  discussion,  he  invested 
his  views  with  a  charm  and  novelty  that  never 
failed  to  catch  the  ear  of  the  multitude. 

1  Dr.  A.  H.  Newman,  "American  Church  History"  (Baptist), 
Vol.  II.,  pp.  438,  439. 


DIVERGENT    VIEWS  175 

No  season  could  have  been  more  opportune  for 
the  advent  of  such  a  reformer  as  Mr.  Campbell 
than  the  one  in  which  he  appeared.  The  churches 
were  ripe  for  a  change.  Hyper-Calvinistic  or  au- 
tinomian  views  had  been  thundered  from  the  pulpits 
for  many  years  together.  The  constant  discussion 
of  so  contracted  views  around  the  fireside  and  in 
the  home  circle,  as  well  as  from  the  pulpit,  had 
worn  away  the  patience  of  thousands  of  auditors. 
The  presentation  of  dry,  dull  speculations  which 
sprang  from  hyper-Calvinistic  views,  palled  upon 
the  intellectual  taste.  The  people  hungered  for 
bread  and  were  given  a  stone. 

At  this  juncture  Alexander  Campbell  flashed  into 
sudden  prominence.  To  him  the  prevailing  condi- 
tions furnished  a  golden  opportunity,  and  right  well 
did  he  improve  it.  Hundreds  flocked  to  the  stand- 
ard of  "  the  Reformer,"  a  designation  in  which  he 
delighted.  Under  his  direction  a  sect  was  gradually 
formed  which  assumed  the  self-styled  name  of  "  Re- 
formers," but  opprobriously  called  by  their  oppo- 
nents "  Campbellites."  The  appearance  of  Mr. 
Campbell  was  the  signal  for  strife,  divisions,  aliena- 
tion, and  irritation.  His  disputatious  supporters 
were  most  active  in  proselyting.  With  more  of 
zeal  than  of  propriety  they  were  constantly  thrust- 
ing their  views  upon  all  with  whom  they  met.  This 
movement  came  as  a  great  shock  to  the  churches  of 
Virginia  and  Kentucky.  It  rapidly  spread  into  the 
adjacent  States.     In  some  instances  entire  churches 


176  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

were  caught  in  its  toils.  This  was  notably  true  of 
the  First  Church  of  Nashville,  Tennessee,  which 
for  a  season  fell  completely  under  the  domination 
of  the  Disciples.  Doubtless  the  division  between 
the  followers  of  Campbell  and  the  Baptists  would 
have  occurred  in  Kentucky  earlier  by  three  years, 
but  it  was  stayed  by  the  great  revival  which  begau 
in  1827.  By  the  severance  of  fellowship  on  the 
part  of  Baptist  churches  from  the  adherents  of 
Campbell,  the  way  to  an  independent  organization 
was  made  easy. 

Professing  to  return  to  the  original  principles  of 
Christianity,  the  new  sect  assumed  the  name  of 
"  Disciples."  Accessions  were  gained  to  the  ranks 
of  the  new  organization  alike  from  the  Baptists, 
Methodists,  and  Presbyterians ;  but  the  Baptists 
furnished  the  greater  number.  For  a  period  of 
years  the  sect  was  very  popular.  It  swept  like  a 
prairie  fire  over  the  new  West  and  far  into  the 
States  of  the  South.  For  a  time  it  seemed  that  it 
would  overwhelm  every  other  denomination.  Ad- 
herents continued  to  flock  to  it  by  the  thousand. 
In  the  acquisition  of  converts  the  utmost  scrupu- 
lousness was  not  always  observed.  Every  means 
was  laid  under  tribute  to  arouse  prejudice,  engender 
discord  in  churches  and  communities,  and  to  pro- 
duce confusion  in  the  minds  of  the  wavering.  Bois- 
terous in  declamation,  and  brazen  in  the  assertion 
of  their  views,  the  followers  of  Mr.  Campbell  made 
rapid  headway  with  the  excited  multitudes  which 


DIVERGENT    VIEWS  177 

thronged  upon  their  preaching.  Whatever  else 
may  be  said  of  this  agitation,  there  is  little  doubt 
that  anti-pedobaptism  and  immersion  were  greatly 
helped  by  it.  The  stress  vehemently  laid  upon  im- 
mersion by  the  Disciples  emphasized  to  the  minds  of 
thousands  of  Pedobaptists  the  importance  of  a  thor- 
ough examination  of  the  subject.  The  result  was 
the  conversion  of  very  many  to  the  doctrine  of  im- 
mersion. 

An  additional  cause  of  distraction  in  the  Baptist 
churches  of  the  South  is  what  is  known  as  "  Old 
Landmarkism,"  a  term  the  honor  of  the  authorship 
of  which  is  divided  between  Drs.  J.  M.  Pendleton 
and  J.  P.  Graves.  They  were  the  first  to  give  ex- 
pression to  the  views  which  characterized  a  party  of 
Baptists  who  came  well-nigh  going  sufficiently  far 
in  the  extremity  of  their  views  to  form  a  distinct 
sect.  This  party  prevailed  mostly  in  the  Southwest. 
The  movement  under  Doctors  Pendleton  and  Graves 
was  an  attempted  reaction  from  the  growth  of  con- 
servatism in  the  Baptist  denomination  South.  The 
principal  features  of  "  Old  Landmarkism  "  were  an  ' ) 
insistence  of  Baptist  apostolic  succession ;  a  declara-  ^  ) 
tion  of  the  absolute  necessity  of  properly  authorized 
administrators  of  baptism  in  order  to  the  validity 
of  the  ordinance;  the  refusal  to  accept  as  valid  ^^ 
baptism  that  which  is  administered  by  a  Pedobaptist ; 
a  denial  that  Pedobaptist  organizations  are  churches,  > ) 
and  that  their  ministers  are  properly  authorized 
preachers  of  the  gospel.     At  a  later  period  Doctor 

M 


t^ 


178  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

Graves  sought  to  graft  upon  these  views  that  of  non- 
intercommuuiou,  iu  which  he  denied  the  scriptural 
riglit  of  a  member  of  a  Baptist  church  to  commune 
with  any  other  than  that  of  which  he  is  a  member. 

These  views  were  urged  with  great  energy  in  the 
valley  of  the  Mississippi,  finding  an  expression,  for 
the  most  part,  tlirough  "The  Tennessee  Baptist," 
of  which  Doctor  Graves  had  been  the  editor  since 
1846.  Doctor  Graves  was  a  polemicist  of  no  or- 
dinary ability,  and  a  speaker  of  much  charming 
magnetism.  In  liim  were  equally  blended  the  facile 
writer  and  eloquent  speaker,  so  that  through  word 
of  mouth  as  well  as  through  the  columns  of  "  The 
Tennessee  Baptist,"  he  was  able  to  sway  multitudes 
of  those  whose  eyes  and  ears  he  was  enabled  to 
reach.  For  many  years  his  paper  was  an  engine  of 
power  among  the  Baptists  of  the  Southwest.  Nor 
was  he  without  some  following  throughout  the  States 
of  the  South.  His  views  boldly  urged  furnished  a 
fruitful  source  of  discussion,  not  altogether  un- 
attended at  times  by  bitter  dissension. 

For  about  a  quarter  of  a  century  this  spirit  held 
sway  chiefly  in  the  region  of  the  great  basin  of  the 
Mississippi,  but  after  that  time  a  reaction  set  in  and 
enlig-htened  conservatism  reasserted  itself.  While 
there  are  still  to  be  found  in  diiferent  portions  of  the 
South  and  Southwest  some  who  cling  to  the  views  of 
the  original  "  Landmarkers,"  they  are  few  in  com- 
parison with  those  of  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago. 


CHAPTER  VII 

INTEREST   IN  MISSIONS  PRIOR   TO   THE   SEPARATION 

rpHE  early  Baptists  of  the  South  were  noted  for 
-L  their  zeal  in  home  missions.  To  this  fact, 
more  than  to  any  other,  is  due  the  marvelous  ex- 
pansion of  the  denomination  during  the  first  half- 
century  of  its  history.  The  early  Baptist  minis- 
try of  the  South  has  never  been  excelled  in  its  un- 
quenchable zeal  in  providing  the  destitute  with  the 
gospel.  Hardy  and  heroic,  these  primitive  preach- 
ers of  the  South  were  in  the  advance  guard  of 
Southern  civilization,  lured  partly  by  the  unexplored 
but  inviting  region  which  lay  toward  the  setting 
sun,  and  in  part  by  a  desire  to  extend  the  limits  of 
Christian  evangelization.  Along  with  the  redemp- 
tion of  the  wilderness  and  the  waste  places  was  the 
reclamation  of  the  multitudes  from  vice. 

These  heroic  men  braved  all  dangers  and  endured 
every  hardship  in  their  determination  to  preach. 
Rarer  exhibitions  of  missionary  zeal  were  not  illus- 
trated even  during  the  apostolic  age.  Already  occa- 
sions have  arisen  several  times  for  reference  to  this 
spirit  of  early  evangelization. 

Resistance  to  the  work  of  home  missions  was 
never  made  ;  but  when  the  matter  of  foreign  mis- 

179 


180   HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

sions  was  suggested  to  the  early  churches,  opposition 
was  at  once  aroused.  Objections  to  such  a  move- 
ment became  vehement,  as  it  was  deemed  a  clear  in- 
fringement of  the  divine  prerogative  thus  to  under- 
take the  evangelization  of  the  peoples  of  the  remoter 
portions  of  the  earth. 

It  seems  never  to  have  occurred  to  these  matter- 
of-fact,  but  necessarily  contracted,  people  that  the 
objections  against  foreign  missions  would  admit  of 
equal  application  to  home  missions.  The  eifort  to 
lead  the  great  mass  of  Baptists  in  the  States  of  the 
South  to  view  the  matter  of  missions  as  indivisible 
and  worldwide  has  been  a  protracted  one;  indeed, 
in  not  a  few  localities  the  attempt  up  to  this  time 
has  been  utterly  without  avail.  There  are  thousands 
of  Baptists  in  the  churches  of  the  South  who  are 
misnamed  missionary  Baptists. 

The  first  organized  effort  in  the  South  looking  to 
evangelization  began  in  the  Charleston  Association 
when  John  Gano  was  sent  first  to  the  Yadkin  dis- 
trict of  North  Carolina,  as  a  missionary.  The  pre- 
cedence of  South  Carolina  Baptists  in  evangelistic 
enterprise  has  been  perpetuated  to  the  present. 
From  the  beginning  they  enjoyed  the  pre-eminence 
of  a  distinguished  leadershij) — a  leadership  as  de- 
voted as  it  was  able.  The  churches  of  South  Caro- 
lina have  never  receded  from  the  high  plane  of 
beneficence  to  which  they  were  led  by  Screven,  Hart, 
and  Furman.  Even  in  advance  of  the  great  inter- 
est awakened  in  foreign  missions  by  the  conversion 


MISSIONS    PRIOR    TO    THE    SEPARATION        181 

of  Judson  and  Rice,  Dr.  Furman  had  shown  com- 
mendable zeal  in  raising  funds  for  the  publication  of 
the  Bible  translations  of  Carey  and  Marshman. 
The  wisdom  of  Richard  Furman  was  conspicuous 
in  coupling  with  this  praiseworthy  labor  that  of 
seeking  to  stimulate,  on  the  part  of  the  pastors  of 
that  early  period,  a  desire  for  better  preparation  for 
their  work.  His  sagacity  prompted  him  to  look 
beyond  immediate  results  in  connection  with  this 
missionary  movement — he  desired  to  see  the  spirit 
becoming  an  abiding  one.  In  order  to  that  end,  he 
sought  to  elevate  the  ministry  while  he  strove  to 
gather  in  contributions.  The  masterly  manipulation 
of  existing  agencies  which  resulted  in  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  South  Carolina  Baptist  State  Convention 
in  1821,  is  an  evidence  of  the  splendid  leadership 
of  Richard  Furman.  The  Convention  was  founded 
upon  the  two-fold  idea  of  ministerial  education  and 
missionary  expansion.  To  the  mind  of  Dr.  Furman 
they  w^ere  as  inseparable  as  shadow  and  substance. 
When  Luther  Rice  visited  the  South,  urging  with 
equal  fervor  education  and  missions,  he  found  that 
he  had  been  preceded  in  the  advocacy  of  those  asso- 
ciated ideas  in  at  least  one  locality. 

Together,  as  yoke-fellows,  Rice  and  Furman 
stood  upon  the  floor  of  the  Triennial  Convention  in 
Philadelphia,  in  1817,  in  advocacy  of  these  insepar- 
able interests.  No  one  familiar  with  the  Baptist 
denomination  can  fail  to  see  the  wisdom  of  these  men 
of  God  in  the  equal  urgency  of  the  two  claims. 


182  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

Following  close  upon  the  organized  efforts  of  the 
South  Carolina  Baptists  were  those  of  the  denomi- 
nation in  Georgia.  Scarcely  any  organization  was 
undertaken  before  the  advent  of  Jesse  Mercer. 
Like  Furman,  in  the  adjoining  State,  Mr.  Mercer 
associated  with  the  evangelization  of  the  world  an 
enlightened  ministry.  He  was  the  prime  mover  in 
the  formation  of  the  famous  Powelton  Conferences, 
out  of  which  grew  the  missionary  and  educational 
organizations  of  the  Baptists  of  Georgia.  These 
conferences  were  developed  into  the  General  Com- 
mittee, which  was  composed  of  members  from  each 
district  Association  in  Georgia,  with  the  distinct  ob- 
ject in  view  of  promoting  State  missions  by  organ- 
ized itinerant  preaching,  and  to  establish  a  school 
among  the  Creek  Indians,  who  occupied  the  terri- 
tory stretching  along  the  western  confines  of  the 
State.  These  movements  gradually  led  to  the  con- 
stitution of  the  State  Convention  and  the  founding 
of  Mercer  University. 

Abraham  Marshall  was  made  the  chairman  of  the 
General  Committee  of  Georgia,  and  Henry  Hol- 
combe,  secretary.  A  general  address  was  issued  di- 
rected, in  part,  to  the  Baptists  of  the  State  and 
partly  to  "all  gospel  ministers  not  of  their  order 
within  this  State  [who]  wish  the  unity  of  the  spirit 
in  the  bonds  of  peace."  The  first  portion  of  the 
address  related  to  the  Baptist  denomination,  and  was 
intended  to  explain  the  nature  of  the  movement, 
and  to  invite  co-operation  in  its  furtherance.     The 


MISSIONS    PRIOR   TO   THE   SEPARATION       183 

second  portion*  addressed  to  the  ministry  of  other 
denominations  said  :  "  With  the  greatest  respect  and 
affection,  we  invite  you,  Reverend  Brethren,  to  an 
investigation  in  order  to  a  scriptural  adjustment  of 
the  comparatively  small  points  in  which  we  differ." 
Praiseworthy  as  this  movement  was,  and  sincere  as 
were  its  promoters,  it  was  impaired  in  the  outset  by 
the  attempt  at  denominational  union.  It  failed 
equally  in  commanding  the  approbation  of  the  Bap- 
tists and  the  members  of  other  denominations.  It 
really  did  not  represent  the  prevailing  sentiment  of 
Baptists,  and  was  repelled  by  the  Pedobaptists. 
The  invitation  was  responded  to  at  the  next  meeting 
of  the  committee  by  two  ministers  of  other  denomi- 
nations, one  a  Methodist  and  the  other  an  Episco- 
palian ;  but  the  subject  of  denominational  unity  was 
never  once  referred  to.  Attention  was  henceforth 
devoted  to  missions  and  ministerial  education. 

But  the  serious  blunder  committed  in  the  outset 
in  the  attempted  fusion  of  Baptists  with  other  de- 
nominations alienated  the  rank  and  file  of  the  Bap- 
tists throughout  the  State.  Associations  passed  over 
the  matter  with  ominous  silence  which  indicated  the 
grave  suspicion  that  the  Baptist  denomination  was 
being  betrayed  into  the  rankest  open  communionism. 
The  members  of  the  General  Committee  were  never 
able  to  repair  the  blunder  to  the  satisfaction  of  the 
denomination.  This  was  followed  by  a  period  of 
inaction  in  the  churches.  But  in  1813  there  was  a 
revival  of  interest  in  missions,  originating  in  the 


184  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

Savannah  River  Association.  Under  the  lead  of 
Dr.  William  B.  Johnson  advanced  steps  were  taken 
in  home  evangelization,  and  it  was  also  resolved, 
'^  That  the  churches  be  exhorted  to  use  their  best 
endeavors  toward  the  support  of  foreign  missions." 
This  was  immediately  followed  by  the  organization 
of  a  Baptist  Foreign  Mission  Society  in  Savannah, 
of  which  Dr.  William  T.  Brantley  became  the  cor- 
responding secretary.  A  circular  letter  addressed 
to  the  Baptist  Associations  throughout  Georgia  suc- 
ceeded in  arousing  much  missionary  enthusiasm.  It 
at  once  became  manifest  that  if  anything  was  to  be 
accomplished  there  must  be  a  more  compact  organ- 
ization. This  necessity  was  so  universally  recognized 
that  the  General  Association  of  Georgia  was  consti- 
tuted in  1822,  and  this  led,  five  years  later,  to  the 
formation  of  "  The  Baptist  Convention  for  the  State 
of  Georgia." 

Repeated  efforts  had  been  made  by  the  Baptists 
of  Georgia  to  institute  means  to  Christianize  the  In- 
dians whose  tribes  lay  along  both  the  eastern  and 
western  banks  of  the  Chattahoochee  River.  At  last, 
in  1823,  an  Indian  Reform  mission  and  school  were 
established  in  the  Creek  nation  at  Withington  sta- 
tion, about  thirty  miles  south  of  the  present  site  of 
Montgomery,  Alabama.  These  interests  were  as- 
signed to  the  care  of  Rev.  Lee  Compere. 

These  struggling  efforts,  however,  do  not  represent 
all  that  was  being  accomplished  by  the  Baptists  of 
Georgia  for  during,  this  entire  period,  extending  from 


MISSIONS   PKIOR   TO    THE   SEPARATION       185 

the  opening  years  of  the  century  to  1827,  and  much 
later,  they  were  generous  contributors  to  the  mission- 
ary enterprises  of  the  denomination  at  large.  Much 
skill  was  needed  to  generate  a  disposition  to  aid  in 
the  causes  fostered  by  the  denomination,  but  this 
was  not  wanting  on  the  part  of  such  leaders  as 
Holcombe,  Brantley,  Mercer,  Sherwood,  Marshall, 
Sanders,  and  Kilpatrick. 

During  the  earlier  years  of  the  century,  and 
within  the  period  which  folio w^ed  immediately  upon 
the  great  McGready  revival,  the  condition  of  affairs 
was  peculiar  in  North  Carolina.  From  about  1812 
to  1832  there  was  a  stagnant  spirit  among  the 
churches  of  that  State.  They  were  possessed  of 
sufficient  energy  and  vitality,  however,  to  resist  the 
progress  of  missions,  either  local  or  foreign.  During 
the  period  named,  embracing  not  less  than  twenty 
years,  there  were  not  more  than  six  thousand  mem- 
bers added  to  the  Baptist  churches  of  North  Carolina. 
An  attempt  was  made  about  1815  to  arouse  the 
churches  from  their  stupor,  and  to  effect  an  organ- 
ization for  systematic  missionary  effort,  but  without 
avail.  Josiah  Crudup  and  Robert  T.  Daniel,  the 
recognized  leaders  of  that  time,  were  unable  to  arouse 
the  slightest  interest  in  missionary  endeavor. 

Again,  in  1826,  an  effort  was  made  to  create  zeal 
in  behalf  of  missions,  which  effort  culminated  in  the 
constitution  of  a  struggling  organization  known  as 
the  Baptist  Benevolent  Society,  which  in  turn  led  to 
the  formation  of  the  North  Carolina  Baptist  State 


186  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

Convention.  This  organization  was  effected  in  a 
large  barn,  near  the  town  of  Greenville,  on  March 
20,  1830.  The  enterprise  was  the  result  of  the 
wise  direction  and  untiring  zeal  of  Rev.  Thomas 
Meredith,  who  prepared  the  constitution  in  advance 
of  the  meeting,  and  who  had  the  satisfaction  of 
seeing  it  adopted  substantially  as  it  came  from 
his  pen. 

The  purpose  of  the  young  organization  was 
plainly  but  forcibly  presented  in  the  second  article 
of  the  constitution  : 

The  primary  objects  of  this  Convention  shall  be  the 
education  of  young  men  called  of  God  to  the  ministry 
and  approved  of  by  the  churches  to  which  they  respec- 
tively belong,  the  employment  of  the  missionaries  within 
the  limits  of  the  State,  and  co-operation  with  the  Bap- 
tist General  Convention  of  the  United  States  in  the  pro- 
motion of  missions  in  general. 

A  mere  handful  constituted  this  original  body 
with  full  knowledge  that  such  action  would  en- 
counter stout  opposition.  The  means  with  which 
the  proposed  work  was  to  be  accomplished  had  yet 
to  be  created.  Within  the  State  there  were  at  that 
date  about  fifteen  thousand  Baptists  of  all  shades  of 
belief.  They  received  the  announcement  of  the 
formation  of  the  Convention  with  an  indifference 
well-nigh  appalling.  But  the  courage  wdiicli  had 
nerved  to  the  constitution  of  the  body  impelled  to 
the  establishment  of  plans  for  the  consummation  of 
the  purposes  proposed.     With  the  utmost  delibera- 


MISSIONS    PRIOR    TO    THE    SEPARATION       187 

tion  twelve  men  were  appointed  to  canvass  the 
State  in  the  interest  of  the  proposed  objects  of  the 
Convention.  Without  compensation  these  men  were 
to  traverse  the  State  in  every  direction  and  urge  the 
claims  of  the  Convention  in  the  face  of  a  most  de- 
termined opposition.  Mr.  Meredith  prepared  an 
address  which  was  to  be  sent  to  the  Baptist  churches 
throughout  North  Carolina,  setting  forth  the  object 
of  the  Convention  and  appealing  for  co-operation. 
The  struggle  was  a  severe  one  and  the  progress 
made  not  at  all  encouraging.  But  the  promoters  of 
the  movement  were  prepared  for  the  worst,  and 
hence  were  not  daunted  by  the  resistance  encountered. 
The  step  proved  the  starting-point  of  the  develop- 
ment of  the  denomination  in  North  Carolina,  which 
development  has  continued  until  the  State  has  be- 
come the  third  in  numerical  strength  of  the  States 
composing  the  Southern  Baptist  Convention.  From 
the  churches  of  North  Carolina  have  come  many  of 
the  wisest  and  ablest  of  Baptist  leaders,  among 
whom  may  be  named  the  Mercers,  the  elder  Brant- 
ley, the  elder  Basil  Manly,  John  Kerr,  R.  B.  C. 
Howell,  and"  A.  M.  Poindexter. 

The  struggles  of  the  Virginia  Baptists  both  before 
and  after  the  Revolution  served  to  sink  out  of  view 
their  minor  differences  and  to  make  them  more 
cohesive.  But  the  progress  of  the  missionary  spirit 
of  that  State  was  not  unchecked  by  those  opposed 
to  missions. 


188  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

After  the  subversion  of  the  Establishment  under 
the  auspices  of  the  General  Committee,  another  body- 
was  organized  in  1800,  known  as  the  Committee 
of  Correspondence.  This  last-named  organization 
served  somewhat  as  a  Board  in  arousing  interest  in 
the  matter  of  missions  and  the  general  direction  of 
denominational  affairs.  The  Committee  of  Corres- 
pondence lasted  until  1823,  when  the  General  Asso- 
ciation of  Virginia  was  organized.  While  the  few- 
ness of  numbers  entering  into  this  organization  must 
not  be  altogether  attributed  to  opposition  to  organ- 
ized effort  in  evangelistic  enterprise,  yet  it  was  sig- 
nificant. Only  fifteen  delegates  coming  from  a  few 
Associations  entered  into  the  constitution  of  the  Gen- 
eral Association.  At  the  period  of  this  organization 
there  were  not  less  than  forty  thousand  Baptists 
and  twenty  district  Associations  in  Virginia.  R.  B. 
Semple  was  chosen  as  the  first  president  of  the  Gen- 
eral Association,  and  J.  B.  Jeter  and  Daniel  Witt 
were  appointed  the  first  missionaries.  These  devoted 
men  sought  to  accomplish  two  ends,  that  of  convert- 
ing the  masses  in  destitute  regions  and  that  of  edu- 
cating the  churches  in  the  matter  of  missions. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  Alexander  Campbell 
came  into  prominence  as  a  doughty  disputant  ar- 
rayed against  salaried  ministers  and  organized  mis- 
sionary effort.  The  public  mind  was  greatly  dis- 
tracted by  the  utterances  and  conduct  of  Mr.  Camp- 
bell, who  was  withstood  by  Taylor,  Jeter,  Witt, 
and  Semple.     While   Mr.   Campbell  succeeded    in 


MISSIONS    PRIOR    TO    THE    SEPARATION       18'J 

urging  some  to  the  adoption  of  his  views,  and  in 
alienating  others,  the  bulk  of  the  denomination  was 
brought  into  sympathy  with  the  general  work  of 
the  Baptists  of  the  entire  country.  The  Baptists 
of  Virginia  shared  largely  in  the  enthusiasm 
aroused  by  Luther  Rice*  in  behalf  of  Columbian 
College  and  the  Burmese  mission,  and  their  leaders 
were  conspicuous  members  of  the  Triennial  Con- 
vention. 

As  has  been  shown,  the  Baptists  of  Maryland 
have  never  been  numerically  strong,  but  they  were 
among  the  first  in  the  States  of  the  South  to  ex- 
hibit a  missionary  spirit.  As  early  as  1793  the 
Baltimore  Baptist  Association  was  constituted  and 
soon  put  itself  upon  record  as  a  missionary  body. 
Eventually,  however,  there  grew  up  an  anti-mis- 
sionary spirit  which  continued  to  gain  ground  until 
1836,  when  by  a  majority  of  seven  the  anti-mis- 
sionary Baptists  came  into  control  of  the  Baltimore 
Association.  By  a  vote  of  sixteen  to  nine,  the  As- 
sociation, in  1836,  adopted  resolutions  against  "  unit- 
ing with  worldly  societies,"  coupled  with  a  declara- 
tion of  non-fellowship  with  such  as  had  done  so. 
This  meant  a  severance  from  all  such  agencies  as 
missionary  organizations,  Sunday-schools,  and  Bi- 
ble, tract,  and  temperance  societies.  This  action 
brought  about  a  rupture  and  terminated  the  mis- 
sionary zeal  of  the  Association.  The  organization 
through  which  the  Baptists  have  expressed  their  in- 


190  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IX  SOUTHERN  STATES 

terest  in  missions  is  the  Maryland  Baptist  Union 
Association,  which  was  organized  as  a  distinctively 
missionary  body  in  1836.  Into  this  body  were 
gathered  those  who  resisted  the  encroachments  of 
the  anti-missionary  Baptists,  and  since  its  inception 
the  Maryland  Baptist  Union  Association  has  been 
an  enthusiastic  missionary  body. 

At  an  early  period  Baptists  recognized  the  ne- 
cessity of  planting  churches  in  the  national  capital. 
As  early  as  1802  a  church  was  organized  in  Wash- 
ington, then  a  town  struggling  into  life,  with  all 
the  rude  evidences  of  a  frontier  settlement,  and 
with  a  scattered  population  of  four  thousand.  Only 
six  members  entered  into  the  constitution  of  the 
First  Baptist  Church,  founded  in  Washington  on 
March  7,  1802.  For  pastoral  service  and  pulpit 
supply  the  infant  church  was  forced  to  rely  upon 
Rev.  William  Parkinson,  who  was  then  chaplain  of 
Congress. 

Near  the  close  of  the  year,  an  unpretentious 
meeting-house  was  built  on  the  corner  of  I  and 
Nineteenth  Streets.  For  five  years  this  struggling 
interest  was  forced  to  depend  upon  the  chaplain  to 
Congress  for  whatever  of  preaching  or  pastoral 
oversight  it  enjoyed.  But  in  1807  Rev.  O.  B. 
Brown  assumed  pastoral  charge  of  the  church  and 
served  it  during  the  remarkable  term  of  forty- 
three  years.  It  was  into  this  church  that  Spencer 
H.  Cone  entered  as  a  member  after  his  conversion 
and  abandonment  of  the  stage.     From  this  church 


MISSIONS    PRIOR    TO    THE    SEPARATION        191 

Mr.  Cone  received  his  license  as  a  preacher.  In 
1814,  Hon.  O.  C.  Comstock,  a  member  of  Congress, 
joined  the  church,  was  baptized,  and  licensed  to 
preach.  The  location  of  the  church  was  changed  in 
1833  to  Tenth  Street,  where  a  new  meeting-house 
was  built.  In  1859  the  First  and  Fourth  churches 
were  united.  Its  pastors  have  been  Messrs.  Brown, 
Hill,  Cole,  Samson,  Gillette,  Cuthbert,  and  Stakely. 

The  Second  Church,  sometimes  called  the  Navy 
Yard  Church,  was  constituted  on  June  10, 1810,  be- 
ginning with  a  membership  of  only  five.  The  first 
place  of  meeting  of  this  small  body  was  a  diminutive 
frame  building.  It  was  in  this  little  house  that 
Spencer  H.  Cone  began  his  career  as  a  preacher. 
At  that  time  Mr.  Cone  was  a  clerk  in  the  Treasury 
Department,  from  which  station  he  rose  to  the  posi- 
tion of  chaplain  to  Congress.  The  names  of  Lynd, 
Neale,  Chapin,  Maginnis,  Poindexter,  Bacon, 
Adams,  Sydnor,  Boston,  and  Cole,  appear  in  the 
roll  of  the  pastors  of  this  church. 

These  enterprises  represent  the  interests  founded 
in  the  national  capital  during  the  period  now  under 
review.  It  was  with  great  difficulty  that  the  Bap- 
tists were  enabled  to  gain  a  permanent  footing  in 
Washington,  and  but  for  the  loyalty  and  devotion 
of  a  few  zealous  men  and  women.  Baptist  settlement 
in  the  national  capital  would  have  been  greatly 
delayed. 

Other  interests  than  those  already  named  have 
come  into  existence  since  the  period  now  under  con- 


192  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

sideration,  but  of  these  this  is  not  the  place  to 
make  mention.  In  their  associational  connection 
and  missionary  work,  the  Baptist  churches  of  the 
District  of  Columbia  are  divided  in  membership 
between  the  Columbia  Association  and  the  Potomac 
Association,  of  Virginia. 

In  the  early  periods  of  their  history,  the  Baptists 
of  Kentucky  were  a  most  enterprising  folk,  espe- 
cially in  domestic  missions.  Their  interest  in  gen- 
eral missionary  work  dates  from  the  great  revival 
of  1800.  Prior  to  that  time  but  little  was  at- 
tempted by  the  itinerant  Baptist  preachers  of  Ken- 
tucky beyond  the  borders  of  that  State.  Fired 
with  the  enthusiasm  of  the  great  revival  of  1800 
which  shook  the  State  to  its  center.  Baptist  mission- 
aries extended  their  labors  beyond  the  Ohio  and 
into  the  States  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Illinois  on  the 
north,  and  Tennessee  on  the  south. 

According  to  Dr.  J.  M.  Peck,  Kentucky  Baptists 
were  the  first  Protestants  to  enter  the  State  of  Illi- 
nois. Rev.  James  Smith  was  the  heroic  missionary 
who  essayed  to  cross  the  border  into  the  wilderness 
which  was  afterward  developed  into  that  great 
State.  While  thus  engaged,  he  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  Indians,  from  whom  he  was  ransomed  by  his 
brethren  for  the  sum  of  one  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  dollars.  In  1801  the  South  Elkhorn  Church 
sent  a  request  to  the  Elkhorn  Association  "  to  send 
missionaries  to  the  Indian  nations."     The   matter 


MISSIONS    PRIOR    TO    THE    SEPARATION        193 

received  prompt  attention  by  the  appointment  of  a 
committee 

of  five  members  to  hear  and  to  determine  on  the  call  of 
any  of  our  ministers,  and  if  satisfied  therewith,  to  give 
them  credentials  for  that  purpose  ;  to  set  subscriptions 
on  foot,  to  receive  collections  for  the  use  of  said  mission  ; 
and  it  is  recommended  to  the  church  so  to  encourage 
subscriptions  for  said  purpose,  and  have  the  monej^ 
lodged  with  the  deacons  to  be  applied  for  that  purpose 
whenever  called  for  by  the  committee.  The  following 
brethren  are  appointed  :  David  Barrow,  Ambrose  Dud- 
ley, John  Price,  Augustine  Eastine,  and  George  Smith. 

The  result  was  that  John  Young  was  sent  from  the 
Elkhorn  Association  as  a  missionary  to  the  Indians. 

As  early  as  1816,  when  the  subject  of  foreign 
missions  was  being  pressed  upon  the  attention  of 
the  churches  throughout  the  South,  we  find  in  Ken- 
tucky six  missionary  societies  which  were  liberal 
contributors  to  the  treasury  of  the  Board  at  Phila- 
delphia. 

The  churches  of  Kentucky  having  been  blessed 
again  with  a  remarkable  revival  in  1817,  their  at- 
tention seems  to  have  been  turned  afresh  to  the 
matter  of  missions,  for  it  was  immediately  followed 
by  the  creation  of  a  school  for  Indian  children  near 
Georgetown.  This  was  the  work  of  the  Kentucky 
Missionary  Society,  which  gave  to  the  new  school 
the  name  of  Choctaw  Academy.  This  new  interest 
prospered  through  a  period  of  years,  and  sent  out 
to  the  Indians  of  the  far  West  two  missionaries, 

N 


194   HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERX  STATES 

Samson  Birch  and  Robert  Jones.  Then  came  the 
period  of  distraction  attendant  upon  the  advent  of 
Alexander  Campbell.  In  close  connection  with  Mr. 
Campbell  was  the  appearance  in  that  region  of 
Daniel  Parker,  an  illiterate  but  remarkable  man, 
whose  chief  purpose  seems  to  have  been  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  missionary  spirit  among  the  churches. 
With  all  the  confidence  of  ignorance  he  boldly  as- 
serted the  unscripturalness  of  missions,  and  chal- 
lenged to  disputatious  combat  any  who  dared  con- 
trovert his  position.  While  Daniel  Parker  was 
thus  engaged  he  was  diligent  also  in  the  inculcation 
of  the  two-seed  doctrine  in  the  State.  The  com- 
bination of  two  such  agencies  as  those  of  Campbell 
and  Parker  came  well-nigh  destroying  the  spirit  of 
missions  in  the  churches  of  Kentucky.  In  1832 
the  Baptist  State  Convention  of  Kentucky  was  or- 
ganized, but  it  was  soon  rent  in  pieces  by  internal 
dissension,  and  in  1836  was  driven  to  dissolution. 
The  following  year,  however,  an  effort  was  made  to 
revive  the  suspended  interest  under  the  designation 
of  the  General  Association  of  Kentucky  Baptists, 
the  organization  being  distinctively  founded  upon 
the  idea  of  State  evangelization.  This  cautious 
proceeding  indicates  that  it  was  no  longer  prudent 
or  possible  to  press  the  claims  of  foreign  missions 
upon  the  churches.  From  being  one  of  the  most 
progressive  of  the  States  of  the  South  in  the  prose- 
cution of  missionary  work,  Kentucky  became,  for  a 
period,  one  of  the  most  actively  aggressive  States 


MISSIONS    PRIOR    TO    THE    SEPARATION       195 

against  it,  so  strong  was  the  influence  of  Campbell 
and  Parker. 

Tennessee  shared  largely  in  the  same  spirit.  The 
Baptist  churches  of  that  State  were  among  the  first 
warmly  to  espouse  the  cause  of  missions  in  foreign 
parts,  but  this  was  followed  by  a  most  violent  reac- 
tion. During  the  visit  of  Luther  Rice  to  the  State, 
the  churches  were  greatly  aroused  upon  missions, 
and  for  a  season  their  zeal  was  ardent ;  but  there 
came  a  sudden  turn,  and  the  transformation  was 
complete,  the  rankest  opposition  possible  to  missions 
coming  to  prevail.  The  churches  suffered  from  this 
spiritual  paralysis  for  a  long  period  of  years,  even 
up  to  the  outbreak  of  the  war  between  the  States. 
True,  there  were  churches  here  and  there  through- 
out the  State  engaged  in  contributing  to  missions, 
but  they  were  the  exception  and  not  the  rule.  Re- 
peated efforts  were  made  to  overcome  this  depres- 
sion, but  they  were  unavailing. 

In  Alabama,  as  in  Tennessee,  there  was  a  strug- 
gle long  and  bitter  between  the  missionary  and  anti- 
missionary  Baptists,  for  the  ascendency.  The  con- 
test was  fiercest  in  the  northern  and  eastern  portions 
of  the  State,  but  no  section  was  exempt  from  strife. 
The  annual  meeting  of  every  district  Association 
was  the  occasion  of  intense  struggle  between  those 
who  favored  and  those  who  opposed  missions. 
Still,  the  more  progressive  elements  of  the  de- 
nomination were  active  in  local  missionary  work, 
and  untiring  in  their  efforts  to  cultivate  benevolence 


196  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

on  the  part  of  the  churches.  The  period  of  or- 
ganized evangelistic  effort  in  Alabama  dates  from 
1816,  when  associational  missionaries  began  work. 

In  1823  the  State  Convention  was  organized 
solely  upon  the  basis  of  missions,  and  at  once  fifteen 
evangelists  were  sent  into  different  portions  of  the 
State.  They  were  everywhere  met  by  hostile  de- 
monstrations, but  were  resolute  in  the  prosecution 
of  their  work.  The  leaders  conspicuous  at  this 
period  were  Travis,  Bestor,  and  Holcombe,  the  resi- 
dence of  each  of  whom  was  respectively  in  the 
southern,  central,  and  northern  portions  of  the 
State.  By  concert  of  action  they  succeeded  in 
maintaining  sufficient  organization  to  hold  in  check 
the  opposition,  and  at  tlie  same  time  prosecute  their 
work. 

Mississippi  Baptists  were  among  the  last  to  con- 
stitute a  general  State  organization.  Previous  to 
such  organization,  which  took  place  in  1839,  just  a 
few  years  before  the  constitution  of  the  Southern 
Baptist  Convention,  missionary  work  had  been  pros- 
ecuted throughout  the  State  by  local  Associations. 
Considering  the  rapid  growth  of  the  population 
after  the  battle  of  New  Orleans  and  the  subsequent 
peace  with  Great  Britain,  and  the  difficulties  en- 
countered in  a  new  region,  a  most  praiseworthy 
work  was  accomplished  by  the  Baptists  of  Mississippi 
in  the  cultivation  of  the  home  field. 

The  planting  of  the  Baptist  cause  in  Louisiana 


MISSIONS   PRIOR   TO   THE   SEPARATION        197 

was  so  entirely  due  to  missionary  effort  in  the  midst 
of  the  most  forbidding  obstructions  that  it  was 
natural  for  those  brought  into  the  churches  under 
such  conditions  themselves  to  imbibe  the  missionary 
spirit.  For  many  years  identified  with  the  Baptist 
organizations  of  Mississippi,  the  denomination  in 
Louisiana  at  last  began  to  become  distinctive  in  its 
own  local  work. 

The  constitution  of  Associations  began  as  early  as 
1818  when  the  Louisiana  Association  was  organized. 
This  was  followed  by  the  constitution  of  similar 
bodies  on  both  sides  of  the  Mississippi  as  the  de- 
nomination expanded.  The  Louisiana  State  Con- 
vention was  not  organized  until  1847 — two  years 
after  the  constitution  of  the  Southern  Baptist  Con- 
vention. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  during  the  long  period 
extending  from  the  Revolution  to  the  organization 
of  the  Southern  Baptist  Convention  the  denomina- 
tion in  the  South  was  especially  active  in  the  work 
of  local  missions,  and  along  the  lines  of  advanced 
missionary  effort.  The  rapid  increase  of  population 
in  the  South  made  it  necessary  for  much  local  effort 
to  be  expended.  So  important,  emphatic,  and  long 
continued  was  this  necessary  work  in  the  midst  of  a 
raw  and  incoherent  population,  that  it  became  more 
difficult  to  divert  attention  to  the  equally  important 
matter  of  world  evangelization.  Then  it  cannot  be 
denied  that  the  commercialism  of  the  times  acted 
as  a  serious  hindrance  to  the  fostering  of  missions. 


198  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

It  is  not  easy  to  enlist  the  devotion  of  men  in 
sacred  work,  the  necessity  of  which  is  not  visibly 
manifest,  when  these  men  are  engrossed  in  subduing 
the  harsher  forces  of  nature,  allured  meanwhile  by 
the  prospect  of  great  gain.  To  such  the  injunctions 
and  admonitions  of  the  pulpit  respecting  benevolence 
are  regarded  as  being  merely  functional.  These 
conditions  may  favor  a  spirit  of  worldiiness  and  do, 
but  proportionately  they  hinder  the  spirit  of  be- 
nevolence. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

FORMATION    OF     THE    SOUTHERN    BAPTIST    CONVEN- 
TION 

THE  Southern  Baptist  Convention  was  one  of  the 
direct  effects  of  the  agitation  of  the  question 
of  African  slavery.  Many  years  before  the  separa- 
tion took  place  between  Northern  and  Southern 
Baptists,  the  question  of  slavery  had  been  warmly 
discussed  in  Baptist  circles  and  councils.  Many  of 
the  largest  owners  of  slaves  in  the  South  were  Bap- 
tists who  were  eminent  in  denominational  ranks. 
They  were  as  pronounced  and  sincere  in  the  defense 
of  the  institution  of  slavery  as  were  the  Baptists 
of  the  North  in  its  denunciation.  The  counter- 
sentiment  of  the  two  sections  grew  commensurately 
during  the  last  quarter  preceding  the  outbreak  of 
the  Civil  War.  The  agitation  of  the  question  in 
the  columns  of  the  journals  both  of  the  secular  and 
religious  press,  on  the  platform,  in  the  pulpit,  and 
upon  the  floor  of  Congress,  necessarily  widened  the 
breach  between  the  North  and  South.  As  an  insti- 
tution in  the  South,  slavery  assumed  three  phases — 
social,  economic,  and  political.  It  had  spent  its 
force  as  a  social  institution  %  the  year  1835,  while 
to  the  end  of  its  existence  it  continued  to  affect  the 

199 


^' 


200  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

South  economically.     It  was  as  a  political  agency 
that  it  was  to  effect  the  direst  consequences.     As 
such,  it  split  in  twain  great  ecclesiastical  bodies  and 
finally  involved  the  country  in  bloody  strife.^ 
■"    The    sway    of  wisdom    and    moderation    in    the 
councils  of  the  Triennial  Convention  held  in  abey- 
V       ance  for  many  years    the  passions  of  the  less  dis- 
V,  creet.     Except  that  now  and  then  friction  was  pro- 
duced by  some  injudicious  utterance  or  production, 
nothing  occurred  to  mar  the  general  harmony  of  the 
Baptist    denomination  of  the   United   States  until 
1844.     This  was  due  to  the  influence  of  wise  and 
cool    spirits   who  studiously   suppressed  all  initial 
^  manifestations    of    bitterness.     The    purpose    was 
j       clearly  deliberate  on  the  part  of  the  denominational 
[        leaders,  both  of  the  North  and  South,  to  keep  out  of 
\       sight  as    far   as    possible  this  impending  trouble. 
Up  to  1844,  Southern  churches  vied  with  those  of 
the  North  in  their  contributions  to  the  treasuries  of 
the  societies  maintained  by  the  Triennial  Conven- 
tion. 

To  some,  however,  it  seemed  clear  that  dissolu- 
tion was  inevitable ;  to  others,  it  was  equally  clear 
that  disruption  could  be  averted.  To  the  latter 
class  belonged  that  princely  leader,  Richard  Fuller, 
who  in  1844  offered  in  the  Triennial  Convention 
the  following : 

Whereas,  Some  misapprehension  exists  in  certain  parts 
of  the  country  as  to  the  design  or  character  of  this  Con- 

1 "  Southern  Side  Lights,"  Edward  Ingle,  p.  262. 


SOUTHERN    BAPTIST    CONVENTION  201 

vention,  and  it  is  most  desirable  that  such  misapprehen- 
sion should  be  removed  ;  therefore,  Resolved,  That  this 
Convention  is  a  corporation  with  limited  powers  for  a 
specific  purpose  defined  in  its  constitution  ;  and  there- 
fore that  its  members  are  delegated  to  meet  solely  for  the 
transaction  of  business  prescribed  by  the  said  constitu- 
tion ;  and  that  co-operation  in  this  body  does  not  involve 
nor  imply  any  concert  or  sympathy  as  to  any  matters 
foreign  from  the  object  designated  as  aforesaid. 

The  resolution  was  promptly  seconded  by  Spencer 
H.  Cone,  of  New  York,  and  sustained  by  William 
Hayne,  of  Massachusetts,  and  J.  B.  Jeter,  of  Vir- 
ginia. But  it  was  stubbornly  resisted  by  Nathan- 
iel Colver,  of  Massachusetts,  who  expressed  the 
desire  that  he  be  not  handicapped  respecting  any 
matter  that  might  come  for  consideration  before 
the  body. 

After  some  discussion,  the  resolution  was  with- 
drawn and  the  following  was  oifered  and  adopted : 

Whereas,  There  exists  in  various  sections  of  our 
country  an  impression  that  our  present  organization  in- 
volves the  fellowship  of  the  institution  of  domestic 
slavery,  or  of  certain  associations  which  are  designed  to 
oppose  this  institution  ;  Resolved,  That  in  co-operating 
together  as  members  of  this  Convention  in  the  work  of 
foreign  missions,  we  disclaim  all  sanction,  either  ex- 
pressed or  implied,  whether  of  slavery  or  of  anti- 
slavery  ;  but  as  individuals  we  are  perfectly  free  both  to 
express  and  to  promote  our  own  views  on  these  subjects 
in  a  Christian  manner  and  spirit. 

This  evoked  from  Dr.  Fuller  upon  the  floor  of  the 


202  HISTORY  or  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

/ 

/  Convention   the  expression   that  he  was  perfectly 

calm  and  dispassionate  respecting  slavery.  While 
he  was  unconvinced  that  slavery  was  a  sin,  person- 
ally he  considered  it  a  great  evil.  He  further  said 
that  in  this  opinion  his  brethren  in  the  South  did 
not  share.  He  hoped  and  prayed  that  the  institu- 
tion might  be  abolished.^ 

It  was  claimed  by  the  pro-slavery  advocates  in 
the  Baptist  denomination  in  the  South  that  just  sub- 
sequent to  the  Triennial  Convention  for  1844,  the 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions  procured  the  retirement 
from  its  service  of  Rev.  John  Bushyhead,  a  highly 
respected  Indian  Baptist  preacher,  because  he  was 
an  owner  of  slaves.  This  created  an  impression 
throughout  the  South  that  slaveholders  would  not 
henceforth  be  admitted  to  appointment  under  the 
Board.  During  the  same  year,  1844,  the  famous 
controversy  on  slavery  occurred  between  Way  land 
and  Fuller.  The  latter  replied  to  certain  abolition 
expressions  which  appeared  in  the  columns  of  the 
''  The  Christian  Reflector,"  and  in  doing  so  quoted 
from  Wayland's  "  Elements  of  Moral  Science "  to 
sustain  the  Southern  view  of  the  question  against 
that  expressed  by  the  journal  named.  This  called 
for  a  reply  from  Dr.  Wayland,  and  thus  the  contro- 
versy began.  The  champions  were  the  recognized 
leaders  of  thought  in  the  denomination  North  and 
South.  Both  the  ethical  and  scriptural  grounds  of 
the  great  question  were  passed  under  review,  and 
^A.  H.  Newman,  "Am.  Church  Hist.,"  Baptist,  Vol.  II.,  p.  445. 


SOUTHERN    BAPTIST    CONVENTION  203 

opposite  conclusions  were  of  course  reached.  The 
only  good,  perhaps,  flowing  from  the  controversy 
was  an  exhibition  of  a  courteous  and  Christian 
spirit  which  distinguished  it  throughout. 

The  discussion  of  the  most  serious  features  of 
the  institution  in  so  calm  and  courteous  a  manner 
served,  for  a  season,  to  allay  bitterness  of  feeling. 
But  this  was  of  brief  duration.  The  secular  press 
fed  the  flame  of  public  excitement.  The  halls  of 
Congress  rang  with  oratory  in  the  discussion  of  the 
many-sided  subject.  Occasions  for  division,  though 
slight,  were  often  magnified  by  the  advocates  of 
both  sides  of  this  burning  question.  Arguments 
flew  to  and  fro  like  shots  in  battle.  Any  pro- 
nounced action  on  either  side  repelled  at  a  greater 
distance  the  other.  This  was  shown  by  the  attri- 
bution of  certain  utterances  to  Dr.  R.  E.  Pattison, 
the  Home  Secretary  of  the  Boston  Board,  which 
utterances  intimated  that  the  Acting  Board  of  the  \y/^ 
Triennial  Convention  would  no  longer  tolerate  the 
matter  of  slavery.  It  was  these  utterances  which  y 
called  forth  the  famous  Alabama  Resolutions.  The 
matter  was  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  Alabama 
Baptist  State  Convention  by  a  query  from  the 
Tuscaloosa  Church,  the  authorship  of  which  was 
attributed  to  Dr.  Basil  Manly,  Sr.  The  query  was 
presented  thus  :  "  Is  it  proper  for  us,  at  the  South, 
to  send  any  more  money  to  our  brethren  at  the 
North,  for  missionary  and  other  benevolent  pur- 
poses, before  the  subject  of  slavery  be  rightly  under- 


204  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

stood  by  both  parties  ?  "  This  was  productive  of  sharp 
and  decisive  action.  This  query,  together  with  a 
communication  addressed  to  the  Alabama  Baptist 
Convention  from  the  Georgia  Baptist  Convention, 
was  referred  to  a  committee  of  which  Dr.  Basil 
Manly,  Sr.,  was  chairman.  The  result  of  the  com- 
mittee's action  was  embodied  in  the  following  reso- 
tions : 

Whereas,  The  holding  of  property  in  African  Negro 
slaves  has,  for  some  years,  excited  discussion  as  a  ques- 
tion of  morals,  between  different  portions  of  the  Bap- 
tist denomination  united  in  benevolent  enterprise  ;  and 
by  a  large  portion  of  our  brethren  is  now  imputed  to 
the  slaveholders  in  these  Southern  and  Southwestern 
States  as  a  sin  at  once  grievous,  palpable,  and  disquali- 
fying ; 

1.  Resolved,  .  .  .  that  when  one  party  to  a  voluntary 
compact  among  Christian  brethren  is  not  willing  to  ac- 
knowledge the  entire  social  equality  w^ith  the  other,  as 
to  all  the  privileges  and  benefits  of  the  union,  nor  even 
to  refrain  from  impeachment  and  annoyance,  united 
efforts  between  such  parties,  even  in  the  sacred  cause  of 
Christian  benevolence  cease  to  be  agreeable,  useful,  or 
proper. 

2.  Resolved,  That  our  duty  at  this  crisis  requires  us  to 
demand  from  the  proper  authorities  in  all  those  bodies 
to  whose  funds  we  have  contributed  or  with  whom  we 
have  in  any  way  been  connected,  the  distinct,  explicit 
avowal  that  slaveholders  are  eligible,  and  entitled 
equally  with  non-slaveholders,  to  all  the  privileges  and 
immunities  of  their  several  unions  ;  and  especially  to 
receive  any  agency,  mission,  or  other  appointment 
which  may  run  within  the  scope  of  their  operations  or 
duties. 


SOUTHERN    BAPTIST   CONVENTION  205 

It  was  further  insisted  that  in  the  event  of 
the  moral  character  of  an  applicant  being  chal- 
lenged, such  question  should  be  referred  for  settle- 
ment to  the  church  of  which  he  is  a  member. 
The  transmission  of  future  contributions  to  these 
societies  was  made  contingent  upon  the  satisfactori- 
ness  of  the  answer  given  to  these  questions. 

The  reply  of  the  Foreign  Mission  Board  was 
made  in  a  similar  strain.     It  says  : 

In  the  thirty  years  in  which  the  Board  has  existed, 
no  slaveholder,  to  our  knowledge,  has  applied  to  be  a 
missionary.  And  as  we  send  out  no  domestics  or  serv- 
ants, such  an  event  as  a  missionary  taking  slaves  with 
him,  were  it  morally  right,  could  not,  in  accordance 
with  all  our  past  arrangements  or  present  plans,  possi- 
bly occur.  If,  however,  any  one  should  offer  himself  as 
a  missionary,  having  slaves,  and  should  insist  on  retain- 
ing them  as  his  property,  we  should  not  appoint  him. 
One  thing  is  certain,  we  can  never  be  a  party  to  any  ar- 
rangement which  would  imply  approbation  of  slavery. 

The  critical  reader  cannot  fail  to  discover  certain 
caution  and  reservation  in  the  deliverances  from 
both  quarters.  The  language  is  charged  with  a  re- 
served force,  and  beneath  the  conventional  courtesy 
there  slumber  the  fires  of  determination.  The  de- 
liverance of  the  Alabama  Baptist  State  Convention 
was  the  most  decisive  utterance  that  had  up  to  this 
time  emanated  from  either  side.  It  is  believed  that 
the  incisive  character  of  the  challenge  did  inuch  to 
precipitate  final  separation. 


206  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

Very  soon  practical  emphasis  was  given  to  the 
position  taken  by  the  Home  Mission  Society  by  its 
refusal  to  appoint  James  E.  Reeves,  a  missionary 
within  the  Tallapoosa  Association,  of  Georgia. 
This  refusal  was  made  directly  to  the  Executive 
Committee  of  the  Georgia  Baptist  Convention  and 
was  based  upon  the  ground  that  Mr.  Reeves  was  a 
slaveholder.  The  Executive  Committee,  composed 
of  J.  L.  Dagg,  V.  R.  Thornton,  J.  B.  Walker, 
Thomas  Stocks,  and  B.  M.  Sanders,  promptly  in- 
structed the  treasurer  of  the  Convention  to  with- 
hold all  funds  from  Northern  societies  until  fur- 
ther instruction.  This  was  followed  by  an  address 
to  the  people  of  the  United  States,  reciting  in  de- 
tail the  action  of  the  Home  Mission  Society. 

The  hour  for  dissolution  had  come.  One  by  one 
the  Conventions  of  the  Southern  States  began  to 
withdraw.  Along  with  them  went  the  missionary 
auxiliary  societies  which  had  been  such  copious  con- 
tributors to  the  Boards  of  the  Triennial  Convention. 
The  Board  of  the  Foreign  Missionary  Society  of 
Virginia,  suggested  that  the  Baptists  of  the  South 
be  invited  to  meet  in  Augusta,  Georgia,  in  May, 
1845,  to  indicate  a  course  of  action  for  the  future. 
Meanwhile  the  national  anniversaries  of  the  de- 
nomination met  at  Providence,  Rhode  Island.  The 
report  of  the  committee  appointed  the  year  before 
by  the  American  Baptist  Home  Mission  Society  to 
consider  the  subject  of  an  amicable  dissolution  of 
said  Society,  was  submitted.     It  was  as  follows  : 


SOUTHERN    BAPTIST    CONVENTION  207 

Whereas,  The  American  Baptist  Home  Mission  So- 
ciety is  composed  of  contributors  residing  in  slavehold- 
ing  States  ;  and,  Whereas  The  constitution  recognizes  no 
distinction  among  the  members  of  the  Society  as  to  the 
ehgibihty  of  all  the  offices  and  appointments  in  the  gift 
both  of  the  Society  and  the  Board  ;  and,  Whereas,  it  has 
been  found  that  the  basis  on  which  the  Society  was  or- 
ganized is  one  upon  which  all  the  members  and  friends 
of  the  Society  are  now  willing  to  act ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  it  is  expedient  that  the  members  now 
forming  the  Society  should  hereafter  act  in  separate  or- 
ganizations at  the  South  and  at  the  North,  in  promoting 
the  objects  which  were  originally  contemplated  by  the 
Society. 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  be  appointed  to  report  a 
plan  by  which  the  object  contemiDlated  in  the  preceding 
resolution  may  be  accomplished  in  the  best  way  and  at 
the  earliest  period  of  time  consistently  with  the  preser- 
vation of  the  constitutional  rights  of  all  the  members 
and  with  the  least  possible  interruption  of  the  mis- 
sionary work  of  the  Society. 

The  submission  of  tliis  report  gave  rise  to  a  pro- 
longed discussion.  Prominent  in  the  lead  of  this 
discussion  was  the  able  and  conservative  President 
Wayland.  He  threw  the  weight  of  his  powerful 
influence  against  precipitate  action  in  the  matter  of 
dissolution ;  but  extreme  abolition  sentiments  on 
the  part  of  Northern  members  and  exacting  de- 
mands on  the'  part  of  members  from  the  South 
proved  more  than  a  match  even  for  Francis  Way- 
land.  The  report  was  adopted  and  the  hour  for 
final  severance  had  struck.  The  Alabama  resolu- 
tions, to  which  answer  had  been  made  by  the  Exec- 


208  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

utive  Committee  of  the  Foreign  Mission  Board, 
were  taken  up  and  considered  and  the  action  taken 
by  the  committee  was  endorsed.  This  was  the  re- 
sult of  a  report  of  a  committee  of  which  President 
Wayland  was  chairman.  The  report  was  one  that 
breathed  conciliation  throughout.     It  said  : 

1.  The  spirit  of  the  constitution  of  the  General  Con- 
vention, as  well  as  the  history  of  its  proceedings  from  the 
beginning,  renders  it  apparent  that  all  the  members  of 
the  Baptist  denomination,  in  good  standing,  whether  at 
the  North  or  South,  are  constitutionally  eligible  to  all 
appointments  emanating  either  from  the  Convention  or 
the  Board. 

2.  While  this  is  the  case,  it  is  possible  that  contin- 
gencies may  arise  in  which  the  carrying  out  of  this  prin- 
ciple might  create  the  necessity  of  making  appoint- 
ments by  which  the  brethren  of  the  North  would  either 
in  fact,  or  in  the  ojoinion  of  the  Christian  community, 
become  responsible  for  institutions  which  they  could 
not,  with  a  good  conscience,  sanction. 

8.  Were  such  a  case  to  occur,  we  should  not  desire 
our  brethren  to  violate  their  convictions  of  duty  by 
making  such  appointments,  but  should  consider  it  in- 
cumbent on  them  to  refer  the  case  to  the  Convention 
for  its  decision. 

In  the  discussion  of  this  vital  question,  involv- 
ing in  great  measure  the  benevolence  of  a  large,  in- 
fluential, and  wealthy  body  of  Christians,  the  ablest 
men  of  the  denomination  were  engaged.  It  was 
not  a  time  for  heated  or  precipitate  action.  The 
utmost  prudence  and  caution  were  needed.  Much 
as  dissolution  was  deplored,  it  seemed  unavoidable. 


SOUTHERN   BAPTIST   CONVENTION  209 

Conservatism  was  to  be  found  in  the  ranks  of  the 
representatives  of  both  sections.  Could  their  coun- 
sel have  prevailed,  the  rupture  might  not  have 
come  quite  so  early.  But  as  it  was,  no  continued 
co-operation  could  be  had  without  a  serious  impair- 
ment of  the  necessary  enthusiasm  as  well  as  of  the 
copiousness  of  the  benevolence  on  the  part  both  of 
the  North  and  of  the  South.  Between  the  two  sec- 
tions slavery  had  become  a  question  of  great  irrita- 
tion. Bitterness  was  engendered  with  advancing 
time.  The  disturbing  influence  of  slavery  was  felt 
in  every  sphere.  It  was  next  to  impossible,  with 
the  country  agitated  as  it  was,  for  Northern  aboli- 
tionists and  Southern  slaveholders  to  dwell  together 
in  unity.  The  quietness  and  wisdom  with  which 
these  matters  were  dealt,  and  the  type  of  Christian 
character  displayed  during  these  stormy  times,  re- 
flect the  ability  and  nobility  of  the  men  engaged. 

Inevitable  as  the  separation  was  between  North- 
ern and  Southern  Baptists,  it  was,  for  some  reasons, 
unfortunate.  Had  it  not  come,  as  it  came,  in  1844, 
it  must  needs  have  occurred  in  1861.  Though  if  it 
could  have  been  delayed  until  1861,  the  probability 
is  that  the  dissolution  would  have  been  only  a  tem- 
porary one.  While  both  sections  have  sustained 
loss  by  the  severance,  it  can  scarcely  be  denied  that 
the  South  has  suffered  more.  Considered  from  a 
calm  and  dispassionate  point  of  view,  it  is  clear  that 
the  South  has  suffered  greatly  by  the  loss  of  the 
conservatism   which   has  attended   the    councils   of 

o 


210  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

Northern  Baptists.  Not  that  the  South  has  been 
without  conservatism,  for  it  has  measurably  pre- 
vailed in  spite  of  the  tension  to  which  Baptist  lib- 
erty in  the  South  has  been  at  times  subjected. 
That  which  else  might  have  verged  upon  denomina- 
tional dogma  in  some  instances,  has  been  counterbal- 
anced by  the  conservative  sentiment  of  such  States 
as  Maryland,  Virginia,  Georgia,  and  the  Carolinas. 
These  Atlantic  States  have,  since  the  formation  of 
the  Southern  Baptist  Convention,  represented  the 
cool  conservatism  in  the  Baptist  councils  of  the 
South,  and  have  saved  the  denomination  from  the 
very  extreme  from  which  it  theoretically  recoils. 

May  8,  1845,  marks  a  memorable  epoch  in  the 
history  of  Southern  Baptists.  In  response  to  the 
call  made  for  the  assemblage  of  Baptist  representa- 
tives from  the  South,  three  hundred  and  seventy- 
seven  delegates  met  at  the  time  named,  in  the  city 
of  Augusta,  Georgia,  for  the  purpose  of  forming 
the  Southern  Baptist  Convention.  These  delegates 
were  representatives  from  eight  Southern  States, 
Maryland,  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  South  Caro- 
lina, Georgia,  Alabama,  Louisiana,  Kentucky,  and 
the  District  of  Columbia. 

It  was  an  occasion  of  great  enthusiasm.  Dr.  W. 
B.  Johnson,  who  had  won  distinction  as  a  parlia- 
mentary officer  in  the  Triennial  Convention,  was 
chosen  president,  Hon.  W.  Lumpkin,  of  Georgia, 
and  Dr.  J.  B.  Taylor,  of  Virginia,  were  elected 
vice-presidents,  and  Rev.  Jesse  Hartwell  and  Jamef- 


SOUTHERN    BAPTIST    CONVENTION  211 

C.  Crane  were  made  secretaries  of  the  new  organ- 
ization. 

The  genius  of  the  body  was  voiced  in  a  resohi- 
tion  which  was  the  result  of  the  work  of  a  com- 
mittee of  two  from  each  State.  That  resolution 
was  as  follows  : 

That  for  peace  and  harmony,  and  in  order  to  acenm- 
pHsh  the  greatest  amount  of  good,  and  for  the  mainte- 
nance of  those  scriptural  principles  on  which  the  Gen- 
eral Missionary  Convention  of  the  Baptist  denomination 
of  the  United  States  was  originally  formed,  it  is  proper 
that  this  Convention  at  once  proceed  to  organize  for  the 
propagation  of  the  gospel. 

This  was  unanimously  adopted. 

An  elaborate  address  was  prepared,  and  appealed 
"  to  the  brethren  of  the  United  States ;  to  the  con- 
gregations connected  with  the  respective  churches ; 
and  to  all  candid  men."  The  address  opens  with 
the  frank  statement : 

A  painful  division  has  taken  place  in  the  missionary 
operations  of  the  American  Baptists.  We  would  explain 
the  origin,  the  principles,  and  the  objects  of  that  division, 
or  the  pecv;liar  circumstances  in  which  the  organization 
of  the  Southern  Baptist  Convention  became  necessary. 
Let  not  the  extent  of  this  disunion  be  exaggerated.  At 
the  present  time  it  involves  only  the  Foreign  and  Do- 
mestic Missions  of  the  denomination.  Northern  and 
Southern  Baptists  are  still  brethren.  They  differ  in  no 
article  of  the  faith.  They  are  guided  by  the  same  prin- 
ciples of  gospel  order.  Fanatical  attempts  have  indeed 
been  made,  in  some  quarters,  to  exclude  us  of  the  South 


212  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

from  Christian  fellowship.  We  do  not  retort  these  at- 
tempts, and  believe  their  extent  to  be  comparatively 
limited.  Our  Christian  fellowship  is  not,  as  we  feel,  a 
matter  to  be  obtruded  upon  any  one.  We  abide  by  that 
of  our  God,  his  dear  Son,  and  all  his  baptized  followers. 
The  few  ultra  Northern  brethren  to  whom  we  allude 
must  take  what  course  they  please.  Their  conduct  has 
not  influenced  us  in  this  movement.  We  do  not  regard 
the  rupture  as  extending  to  foundation  principles,  nor 
can  we  think  that  the  great  body  of  our  Northern  breth- 
ren will  so  regard  it.  Disunion,  however,  has  proceeded 
deplorably  far.  The  first  part  of  our  duty  is  to  show 
that  its  entire  origin  is  with  others. 

Then  follows  a  statement  of  the  successive  events 
which  gradually  contributed  to  the  formation  of  the 
Southern  Baptist  Convention.  In  this  was  set  forth 
the  charge  that  the  Triennial  Convention  had  broken 
with  the  principles  upon  which  it  was  founded.  The 
address  declares  concerning  the  original  document 
which  was  the  basis  upon  which  the  Conv^ention  Avas 
established  :  "  Its  constitution  knows  no  difference 
between  slaveholders  and  non-slaveholders."  The 
address  further  declares  that  the  members  of  the 
Southern  Baptist  Convention  had  not  severed  from 
the  constitution  "  of  the  original  union."  It  further 
claims  that  the  founders  of  the  Southern  Baptist 
Convention  had  "  acted  in  the  premises  with  liber- 
ality "  toward  "  the  brethren  of  the  North."  Says 
the  same  document,  "  Thrust  from  the  platform  of 
equal  rights  between  the  Northern  and  Southern 
churches,  we  have  but  reconstructed  that  platform." 


SOUTHERN    BAPTIST   CONVENTION  213 

A    little    further   on   the    emphatic   declaration    is 
made: 

We  will  not  practically  leave  it  on  any  account,  much  less 
in  obedience  to  such  usurped  authority,  or  in  deference 
to  such  a  manifest  breach  of  trust  as  is  here  involved  ;  a 
breach  of  covenant  that  looks  various  ways,  heavenward 
and  earthward.     For  we  repeat.  They  w^ould  forbid  us 

TO  SPEAK  unto  THE  GeNTILES. 

Then  follows  a  declaration  which  involves  a  firm 
purpose  to  preach  the  gospel  everywhere.  Thus  is 
presented  in  analytical  detail,  the  causes  of  the 
separation,  the  principles  of  the  Southern  Baptist 
Convention,  and  its  objects.  The  elaborate  address 
concludes : 

In  parting  with  our  beloved  brethren  and  coadjutors 
in  this  cause  we  could  weep,  and  have  wept,  for  ourselves 
and  for  them  ;  but  the  season  as  well  of  weeping  as  of 
vain  jangling  is,  we  are  constrained  to  believe,  just  now 
past.  For  years  the  pressure  of  men's  hands  have  been 
upon  us  far  too  heavily.  Our  brethren  have  pressed 
upon  every  inch  of  our  privileges  and  our  sacred  rights, 
but  this  shall  only  urge  our  gushing  souls  to  yield  pro- 
portionately of  their  renewed  efforts  to  the  Lord,  to  the 
church  universal,  and  to  a  dying  world  ;  even  as  w^ater 
pressed  from  without  rises  but  the  more  within.  Above 
all,  the  mountain  pressure  of  our  obligations  to  our  God, 
even  our  own  God  ;  to  Christ,  and  to  him  crucified  ;  and 
to  the  personal  and  social  blessings  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
and  his  influences,  shall  urge  our  little  streams  of  the 
water  of  life  to  flow  forth  ;  until  every  wilderness  and 
desolate  place  w^ithin  our  reach  (and  what  extent  of  the 
world's  wilderness,  wisely  considered,  is  not  within  our 


214  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

reach  ?)  shall  be  glad,  even  as  this  passing  calamity  of 
division  ;  and  the  deserts  of  unconverted  human  nature 
rejoice  and  blossom  as  the  rose. 

Two  general  Boards  called  the  Domestic  Mission 
Board  and  the  Foreign  Mission  Board  were  formed 
and  located  respectively  at  Marion,  Alabama,  and 
Richmond,  Virginia.  A  vice-president  for  each  of 
the  two  Boards  was  appointed  from  each  State  repre- 
sented in  the  Convention.  The  meetings  were  ap- 
pointed to  be  held  triennially  after  the  manner  of 
the  original  convention  of  the  United  States.  Rich- 
mond, Virginia,  was  named  as  the  next  place  of 
meeting,  and  June  10,  1846,  as  the  date.  This 
done  and  the  first  session  of  the  Southern  Baptist 
Convention  adjourned. 

Although  these  devoted  men  had  counted  the 
cost  of  such  an  immense  undertaking,  the  contem- 
plation of  their  grave  responsibilities  weighed  upon 
their  spirits  like  the  burden  of  the  Lord  upon  the 
prophets  of  olden  time. 


CHAPTER  IX 

WOEK    UNDER   CHANGED   CONDITIONS 

WHEN  they  set  themselves  to  organize  the  work 
of  the  new  Convention,  the  founders  were 
embarrassed  with  unavoidable  complications.  It 
was  not  an  easy  task  for  the  churches,  Associations, 
and  State  Conventions  to  sever  at  one  blow  the  ties 
which  bound  them  to  the  Triennial  Convention,  and 
at  once  adjust  themselves  to  new  conditions. 

It  was  clear,  from  the  beginning,  that  the  peculiar 
circumstances  which  invested  the  newly  constituted 
body  would  forbid  a  speedy  entrance  upon  the  pro- 
posed work.  One  of  the  peculiar  features  was  that 
connected  with  the  missionaries  already  upon  the 
field.  Some  of  these  were  Southerners,  but  they 
had  been  laboring  under  the  auspices  of  the  Trien- 
nial Convention.  Would  they  be  invited  to  sever 
their  connection  with  the  parent  body,  and  place 
themselves  under  the  care  of  the  new  Convention  ? 
Even  should  they  do  so,  would  the  Southern  Con- 
vention assume  the  work  thus  begun  by  the  parent 
body?  Would  this  not  be  an  additional  occasion 
for  friction  and  prolonged  disturbance  ? 

All  these  suggestions  came  to  the  sober-minded 
leaders  who  recognized  the  necessity  of  an  organiza- 

215 


216  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

tion  distinct  from  the  Triennial  Convention.  These 
difficulties  had  been  considered  in  advance,  and  were 
not  discovered  after  the  bridges  had  been  burned. 
Relief  was  sought,  so  far  as  the  Southern-born  mis- 
sionaries were  concerned,  by  a  proposal  to  the  North- 
ern Board  to  enter  into  partnership  in  the  work  on 
foreign  fields ;  but  the  Northern  Board  wisely  de- 
clined any  such  possibility  of  future  complication. 
Finally  the  settlement  of  the  question  was  left  to 
the  foreign  missionaries  themselves.  If  they  should 
desire  to  remain  under  the  old  Board,  well ;  if  not, 
they  would  be  cordially  received  by  the  Southern 
Board. 

But  slight  extrication  from  prevailing  difficulties 
was  found  by  the  close  of  the  first  year  of  the  Con- 
vention, At  the  appointed  time  the  delegates  met 
in  Richmond.  The  meeting  was  one  of  dignity  and 
decorousness.  About  one  hundred  and  fifty  dele- 
gates responded  to  their  names.  Representatives 
were  present  from  the  American  and  Foreign  Bible 
Society,  The  American  Sunday-school  Union,  The 
American  Baptist  Publication  Society,  and  the 
General  Association  of  Kentucky,  all  of  which  in- 
dicated a  willingness  to  fraternize  the  members  of 
the  new  Convention,  and  as  far  as  practicable  to  co- 
operate with  them. 

The  delegates  addressed  themselves  to  work  with 
a  solemnity  befitting  the  occasion.  This  is  indicated 
by  a  series  of  solemn  resolutions  offered  early  in  the 
session,  from  which  the  following  is  an  extract : 


WORK    UNDER    CHANGED    CONDITIONS        217 

Resolved,  That  before  the  final  vote  upon  questions  of 
vital  importance  (and  at  such  other  times  as  may  be 
deemed  suitable  by  the  body),  the  business  of  the  Con- 
vention shall  be  suspended,  and  prayer  offered  up  to 
Almighty  God  for  the  guidance  of  his  Spirit. 

No  little  enthusiasm  was  awakened  by  the  pres- 
ence of  Rev.  J.  L.  Shuck,  missionary  to  China, 
and  Yong  Seen  Sang,  a  native  Chinaman,  who  had 
been  converted  and  had  accompanied  Mr.  Shuck  to 
America.  Mr.  Shuck  had  been  in  the  employment 
of  the  Northern  Board,  but  now  accepted  appoint- 
ment under  the  Foreign  Board  of  the  Southern 
Baptist  Convention.  Thomas  Simmons,  recently 
returned  missionary  from  Burma,  was  also  present 
during  the  session.  The  China  mission  was  rein- 
forced by  the  appointment  of  the  additional  mission- 
aries, S.  C.  Clopton  and  George  Pearcy. 

In  consideration  of  the  difficulties  which  invested 
them,  the  members  of  the  Convention  found  occa- 
sion for  gratitude  in  that  they  had  been  able  to  ac- 
complish so  much  during  the  preceding  year.  The 
provisional  Boards,  both  foreign  and  domestic,  had 
done  well.  The  Foreign  Board  reported  collections 
to  the  amount  of  seventeen  thousand  seven  hundred 
and  thirty-five  dollars,  while  the  Domestic  Board 
closed  the  year  with  thirteen  thousand  one  hundred 
and  ninety-three  dollars,  some  of  which  amount 
consisted  of  pledges.  In  order  to  facilitate  its  work 
among  the  churches,  the  Foreign  Board  had  insti- 
tuted an  organ  of  communication  known  as  "  The 


218  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

Southern  Missionary  Journal,"  which  afterward  be- 
came "■  The  Foreign  Mission  Journal."  In  its  first 
report  the  Domestic  Mission  Board  showed  a  com- 
mendable spirit  of  enterprise  by  proposing  to  plant 
mission  stations  along  the  Pacific  coast,  the  shores 
of  California,  and  southward  into  Mexico.  That 
portion  of  the  report  was  not  adopted,  however,  for 
fear  of  arousing  suspicion  of  political  combinations. 
One  of  the  distinctive  features  of  the  proceedings 
of  this  session  was  the  proposal  to  increase  the 
facilities  for  Christianizing  the  Southern  slaves. 
The  belief  being  prevalent  that  a  white  man  would 
not  be  able  to  endure  the  climate  of  Western  Africa, 
it  was  deemed  wise  to  send  thither  at  least  ten 
colored  missionaries  from  the  South,  and  to  main- 
tain such  a  force  all  the  while.  The  attitude  of  the 
Baptists  of  the  slave  States  to  the  Negro  in  1846 
may  be  judged  by  the  following,  which  was  earnestly 
adopted  : 

Resolved,  That  in  view  of  the  present  condition  of  the 
African  race,  and  in  view  of  the  indications  of  Divine 
Providence  toward  that  portion  of  the  great  fiimily  of 
fallen  men,  we  feel  that  a  solemn  obligation  rests  not 
only  upon  the  Convention,  but  upon  all  Christians,  to 
furnish  them  with  the  gospel  and  a  suitable  Christian 
ministry. 

The  Convention  adjourned  in  the  midst  of  hope- 
fulness and  enthusiasm,  and  yet  with  a  profound 
sense  of  the  grave  responsibility  assumed.  The 
evangelization  of  a  large  portion  of  the  American 


WORK    UNDER    CHANGED    CONDITIONS        219 

Union  had  been  undertaken.  A  ftiU  share  of  the 
work  in  foreign  fields  would  have  to  be  assumed  by 
the  new  body.  Vast  sums  of  money  would  have 
to  be  raised  and  Avisely  disbursed  in  the  accomplish- 
ment of  these  purposes.  But  the  spirit  of  the  Rich- 
mond Convention  aflForded  a  guarantee  of  ultimate 
success.  A  basis  was  laid  for  extensive  work.  A 
Foreign  Board,  duly  equipped,  was  permanently  lo- 
cated at  Richmond,  Virginia,  and  a  Board  of  Do- 
mestic Missions  was  fixed  at  Marion,  Alabama.  A 
committee  was  appointed  "  to  consider  and  report 
upon  the  expediency  of  organizing  Boards  of  man- 
agers for  Bible  and  publication  operations." 

Steps  were  at  once  taken  to  occupy  the  destitute 
territory  of  the  home  field  as  early  as  practicable. 
Florida  and  Texas  were,  at  this  time,  most  inviting 
fields  for  missionary  endeavor.  Into  the  former  of 
these  States  a  few  Baptists  entered  as  early  as  the 
first  quarter  of  the  century,  and  a  Baptist  church 
was  established,  the  first  in  the  State,  as  early  as 
1825,  in  the  county  of  Jackson.  Governmental 
liberality  and  protection  gained  for  these  new  States 
large  accessions  of  population,  which  were  scattered 
in  widely  separated  settlements  over  broad  areas. 
Toward  such  regions  as  these  the  Domestic  Mission 
Board  directed  its  energies  and  resources,  leaving 
local  destitution  to  be  cared  for  by  the  district  As- 
sociations and  State  Conventions.  As  rapidly  as  it 
could  the  Board  followed  in  the  wake  of  the  ad- 
vancing rank  of  population  as  it  pressed  westward. 


220  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

Even  as  early  as  1846,  Mexico,  as  a  missionary 
field,  was  challenging  the  attention  of  Southern 
Baptists. 

The  defined  work  of  the  new  Convention  was 
the  evangelization  of  the  frontier  regions  of  the 
South,  giving  the  gospel  to  the  slaves.  Christianizing 
the  Indians  of  the  Territories,  colportage  operations, 
and  the  extension  of  missionary  work  in  foreign 
fields.  Vigorous  activity  in  the  new  regions  of  the 
South,  which  were  thickening  with  a  frontier  popu- 
lation, was  not  begun  too  early  by  the  Southern 
Baptist  Convention.  As  the  Domestic  Mission 
Board  sought  to  draw  to  its  allegiance  the  interior 
churches  of  the  South,  it  encountered  much  diffi- 
culty. Church  independency  was  asserted  even  in 
the  district  Associations,  and  more  vehemently  in 
regard  to  the  State  Conventions,  and  when  it  came 
to  an  invited  acquiescence  with  the  general  Boards 
it  seemed  the  nethermost  of  centralization,  and 
many  openly  protested.  Indeed,  that  spirit  has  not 
altogether  departed  from  many  interior  churches  in 
the  South  to  this  day.  The  expanding  strength  of 
the  Boards  of  the  Southern  Baptist  Convention  is 
due  to  the  increasing  acquiescence  of  the  churches 
of  the  South,  and  it  is  proper  to  state  that  this  ac- 
quiescence has  been  proportionate  to  the  growing 
efficiency  of  the  Southern  Baptist  ministry. 

Through  the  years,  from  the  formation  of  the 
Southern  Baptist  Convention  to  the  present,  there 
has  been  in  progress  in  the  South  what  is  known  in 


WORK    UNDER   CHANGED    CONDITIONS        221 

modern  political  phraseology  as  an  "  educational 
campaign."  In  the  presentation  of  the  respective 
claims  of  the  two  Boards  the  advantage  has  been 
on  the  side  of  the  Domestic  Board,  the  visible 
achievements  of  which  in  the  new  settlements  of 
the  South  have  been  all  along  strikingly  manifest. 
The  Foreign  Board  was  forced  to  await  a  fuller 
development  of  missionary  sentiment  for  the  culti- 
vation of  which  it  is  in  no  small  measure  indebted 
to  its  twin  sister — the  Domestic  Mission  Board. 

In  the  early  history  of  the  Convention  there  was 
a  great  demand  for  patience,  energy,  sagacity,  and 
spiritual  devotion.  The  territory  covered  by  the 
Convention  was  vast,  embracing  fourteen  large 
States,  with  an  aggregate  area  of  nine  hundred  and 
fifty-five  thousand  six  hundred  and  sixty-four  square 
miles,  and  with  a  population  of  eight  millions,  a 
large  portion  of  which  was  rural  in  character,  and 
thoroughly  unevangelized.  To  reach  this  mass 
there  were  at  the  period  of  the  formation  of  the 
Convention  about  two  thousand  Baptist  preachers 
of  all  grades  and  classes  in  the  States  of  the  South. 
Only  a  few  of  this  number  were  thoroughly  edu- 
cated, while  many  could  barely  read.  Others  were 
superannuated,  aiid  hundreds  of  them  were  partly 
or  altogether  secularized,  and  were  employed  as 
teachers,  physicians,  merchants,  farmers,  mechanics, 
and  lawyers.  These  were  unevenly  distributed 
throughout  the  South.  In  the  older  States  they 
were  more  efficient ;  in  the  newer,  they  were  alto- 


222  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

gether  unequal  to  the  demands  of  the  prevailing 
conditions. 

Up  to  the  period  under  discussion,  Baptists  were 
almost  entirely  confined  to  the  country.  Not  until 
a  later  period  in  Southern  history,  when  towns  and 
cities  began  to  spring  up  and  to  grow,  did  many  of 
the  most  select  elements  of  the  rural  population 
begin  to  resort  to  these  thriving  centers.  Baptists 
being  generally  the  dominant  folk  in  the  rural 
regions,  many  representatives  of  that  denomination 
removed  to  the  centers  to  improve  their  fortunes. 
These  of  course  were  formed  into  churches.  In  the 
selection  of  pastors  they  sought  for  those  who  were 
the  peers  of  the  occupants  of  the  pulpits  of  other 
denominations.  This  gave  increased  emphasis  to 
the  matter  of  ministerial  education,  and  made  neces- 
sary the  establishment  of  a  theological  seminary. 
Inasmuch  as  the  Baptists  of  the  South  were  almost 
altogether  restricted  to  the  country  districts,  it  was 
fortunate  that  many  of  their  ablest  ministers  insisted 
upon  remaining  in  the  country,  though  often 
tempted  by  city  churches,  to  become  their  pastors. 
Some  of  these  cultured  gentlemen  were  owners  of 
plantations  and  large  bodies  of  slaves,  and  they  pre- 
ferred the  independence  of  country  life  to  the  most 
inviting  city  pulpits.  Some,  like  Andrew  Broaddus, 
of  Virginia,  persistently  declined  the  most  urgent 
and  tempting  calls  to  the  city,  preferring  the  easy 
conventionalities  of  rural  life  and  worship.  One 
such  man,  here  and  there,  was  a  tower  of  strength 


WORK    UNDER    CHANGED    CONDITIONS        223 

in  an  educational  process  such  as  the  Southern 
churches  were  at  that  time  passing  through.  The 
circle  of  the  influence  of  such  a  man  was  immense, 
and  at  a  time  like  the  one  under  consideration,  most 
salutary. 

When  the  detached  work  of  evangelization  was 
undertaken,  it  was  found  that,  in  some  regions  of 
the  South,  white  inhabitants  of  matured  age  had 
never  heard  the  gospel  preached.  Colporters  found 
white  adults  of  both  sexes  who  had  never  heard  a 
sermon  nor  seen  a  minister  of  Christ. 

The  work  of  the  organization  of  the  incoherent 
elements,  especially  of  the  new  States  of  the  South, 
was  slow  and  tedious.  The  Convention  was  most 
deliberate  in  its  choice  of  officials  for  its  Boards. 
The  corresponding  secretaryship  of  the  Domestic 
Board  was  first  tendered  to  J.  L.  Reynolds, 
but  he  declined  to  accept  it.  D.  P.  Bestor  was 
next  invited  to  the  charge  of  the  interest,  but  he 
frankly  declined  because  he  did  not  regard  himself 
suited  to  such  a  position.  R.  Holman  was  then 
called  upon  and  accepted  the  position.  Upon  his 
retirement  from  the  service  of  the  Board,  Joseph 
Walker  was  chosen  to  succeed  him.  When  Mr. 
Walker  resigned,  Mr.  Holman  was  recalled  to  the 
office  of  the  secretaryship,  and  successfully  con- 
ducted the  affiiirs  of  the  Board  to  the  beginning  of 
the  Civil  War.  M.  T.  Sumner  was  the  next  secre- 
tary, and  for  almost  a  score  of  years  gave  success- 
ful direction  to  the  affiiirs  of  the  Domestic  Mission 


224  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

Board.  Having  resigned,  W.  H.  Mcintosh  was 
elected  secretary,  which  position  he  held  until  the 
removal  of  the  Board  to  Atlanta,  Georgia,  in  1882, 
when  I.  T.  Tichenor  became  secretary. 

The  zeal  and  ability  with  which  the  aifairs  of  the 
Southern  Baptist  Convention  were  conducted  from 
the  beffinnino'  are  seen  in  the  results  of  the  work  of 
its  agencies.  For  instance,  during  the  first  thirteen 
years  of  the  career  of  the  Domestic  Mission  Board, 
the  contributions  were  seven  times  greater  than 
those  contributed  to  the  American  Baptist  Home 
Mission  Society  by  the  same  States  during  the  thir- 
teen years  just  preceding  the  organization  of  the 
Southern  Baptist  Convention.  The  Board  served 
to  give  an  impulse  to  every  department  of  denomi- 
national work  by  impressing  the  churches  with  a 
sense  of  enlarged  responsibility,  and  by  arousing 
greater  confidence  in  the  possibility  of  an  early 
evangelization  of  the  South.  Active  agencies  kept 
the  matter  fresh  before  the  churches,  and  in  pro- 
portion to  the  excitement  of  interest,  the  anti-mis- 
sionary barriers  gave  way.  Harmonious  co-oper- 
ation between  the  Domestic  Board  and  the  churches 
opened  the  way  to  a  fair  consideration  of  the  claims 
of  the  Foreign  Board. 

Keeping  pace  with  the  tide  of  population  which 
moved  steadily  westward,  the  Domestic  Board  was 
enabled  to  establish  churches  in  the  inception  of 
such  centers  as  Houston  and  Galveston,  Texas, 
while  older  cities,  like  New  Orleans,  were  entered 


WORK    UNDER    CHANGED    CONDITIONS        225 

and  interests  were  planted.  Likewise  in  Arkansas 
and  Missouri  successful  work  was  accomplished  by 
the  Domestic  Board.  Southward  also,  into  Florida, 
the  attention  of  the  Board  was  directed.  Seizing 
such  commercial  points  as  Key  West  and  Tampa  in 
that  State  of  growing  importance,  the  interior  of 
the  State  was  more  easily  reached.  The  evangeli- 
zation of  Florida  was  largely  procured  through  the 
agency  of  the  Domestic  Board.  In  occupying  the 
State,  the  Board  was  fortunate  in  finding  a  few  or- 
ganizations, such  as  the  Florida  Association,  which 
was  constituted  in  1841,  as  these  furnished  a  van- 
tage-ground for  aggressive  action.  Eventually  the 
Indians  came  under  the  fostering  care  of  the  Do- 
mestic Board,  which  still  supplies  them  with  mis- 
sionaries. A  summary  of  the  work  accomplished 
by  the  Domestic  Board  from  1845  until  1861,  the 
period  of  the  outbreak  of  civil  strife,  was,  the  ap- 
pointment of  seven  hundred  and  fifty  missionaries, 
the  adding  of  fifteen  thousand  members  to  the 
churches,  the  erection  of  two  hundred  meeting- 
houses, the  constitution  of  two  hundred  new 
churches,  and  the  collection  and  disbursement  of 
three  hundred  thousand  dollars.^ 

The  activity  of  the  Board  was,  of  course,  crip- 
pled during  the  Civil  War,  during  which  time  it  di- 
rected its  attention  to  the  evangelization  of  the 
Southern  armies.     Here  its  success  was  as  signal 

iDr.  A.  H.  Newman,    "Amer.  Church  Hist.,  Baptist,"  Vol. 
II.,  p.  455. 

P 


226  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

as  it  had  been  upon  the  fields  of  peace.  Among 
those  whom  the  Board  employed  as  army  evangel- 
ists were  such  distinguished  men  as  I.  T.  Tichenor, 
E.  W.  Warren,  J.  B.  Hawthorne,  R.  Holman,  W. 
C.  Buck,  A.  D.  Sears,  J.  J.  D.  Renfroe,  A.  E.  Dick- 
inson, and  J.  L.  Reynolds. 

The  Board  shared  in  the  general  depression 
which  immediately  succeeded  the  Civil  War,  and 
in  its  gradual  resuscitation  had  to  rely  chiefly  upon 
the  border  States  of  Maryland,  Kentucky,  and 
Missouri.  New  vigor  was  given  it  upon  its  re- 
moval to  Atlanta.  Dr.  I.  T.  Tichenor  was  induced 
to  leave  the  presidency  of  the  Agricultural  and  Me- 
chanical College  of  Alabama  to  assume  the  secre- 
taryship of  the  Board.  As  an  indication  of  the 
fresh  vitality  infused  into  the  Board  there  were 
thirty-six  missionaries  employed  in  1881-1882,  the 
year  before  its  removal,  ninety-five  in  1883,  one 
hundred  and  forty-four  in  1884,  one  hundred  and 
eighty-seven  in  1885,  two  hundred  and  fifty-five 
in  1886,  two  hundred  and  eighty-seven  in  1888, 
three  hundred  and  twenty-four  in  1889,  and  four 
hundred  and  six  in  1891.  Perhaps  in  no  particular 
has  the  Board  rendered  more  signal  service  than  its 
agency  in  the  creation  of  State  mission  Boards 
throughout  the  South,  for  these  were  the  direct  out- 
growth of  the  work  of  the  Home  Board.'  In  many 
instances,  these  local  organizations  have  been  so  ef- 

iThe  name  was  changed  to  that  of  Home  Mission  Board  in 
1873. 


WOEK    UNDER   CHANGED    CONDITIONS        227 

ficient  as  to  obviate  the  necessity  of  further  opera- 
tion of  the  Home  Board  in  a  number  of  the  States. 
A  passing  alkision  has  been  made  to  the  work  of 
the  Home  Board  among  the  Indians  of  the  West, 
Fragments  of  original  tribes  still  linger  upon  the 
western  confines  of  our  country  to  which  the  Home 
Board  has  been  for  many  years  devoted.  Astonishing 
results  have  been  achieved  by  the  missionaries  who 
have  borne  the  gospel  to  the  red  men.  Speaking 
of  the  Indians,  Secretary  Tichenor  says  in  one  of 
his  reports  : 

The  membership  among  them  in  proportion  to  popu- 
lation is  now  equal  to  that  of  our  strongest  Baptist 
States.  They  have  been  reclaimed  from  barbarism. 
They  support  a  well-organized  government.  They  have 
opened  farms,  builded  houses,  established  schools,  and 
are  prepared,  if  they  so  desired,  to  enter  this  great  fed- 
eration of  States  as  a  constituent  member.  Within  the 
Indian  Territory  there  are  now  sixteen  Associations  and 
three  hundred  and  one  churches,  with  a  membership  of 
thirteen  thousand  eight  hundred  and  forty-four. 

What  was  said  of  the  work  of  the  Board  in 
Florida  may  be  said  equally  of  Texas.  When  the 
Home  Board  entered  this  wild  region  west  of  the 
Mississippi,  there  was  a  thinly  scattered  and  mixed 
population  in  Texas  ;  to-day  the  State  has  a  Bap- 
tist membership  of  one  hundred  and  eleven  thou- 
sand one  hundred  and  thirty-eight. 

During  the  later  years  of  its  history  the  Board 
has   accomplished   remarkable    results   through    its 


228  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

Cuban  Mission.  A  captain  in  the  insurgent  army 
during  the  rebellion  of  1868-73  was  surrounded  by 
a  body  of  Spanish  troopers  upon  a  tongue  of  land 
that  protruded  into  the  waters  of  the  gulf.  Prefer- 
ring the  casualties  of  the  deep  to  the  apprehended 
cruelty  of  the  Spanish  soldiery,  the  captain  w^ith 
his  sole  companion  seized  a  drifting  plank  and  the 
two  were  borne  far  out  at  sea.  Through  a  long 
dark  night  they  were  the  plaything  of  the  billows. 
The  dawn  of  day  found  them  still  clinging  to  the 
friendly  plank.  Sick  and  exhausted  the  captain's 
companion  relaxed  his  hold  and  rolled  into  the 
waters  a  dead  man.  Stretching  himself  as  best  he 
could  across  the  supporting  timber,  the  captain  him- 
self sank  into  unconsciousness  and  when  he  awoke 
found  himself  on  board  a  fishing-boat,  the  crew  of 
which  had  picked  him  up.  Being  conveyed  to  New 
York  in  a  vessel  to  which  he  was  transferred  from 
the  smaller  boat,  he  became  violently  ill  of  pneu- 
monia and  was  taken  to  a  hospital  where  his  case 
w^as  pronounced  hopeless.  The  youthful  Cuban  ap- 
pealed strongly  to  the  sympathy  of  Miss  Alice 
Tucker,  a  young  Christian  woman,  who  led  him  to 
Christ  by  means  of  a  Spanish  New  Testament. 
Baptized  in  the  Willoughby  Avenue  Church,  Brook- 
lyn, N.  Y.,  Alberto  J.  Diaz  returned  to  his  native 
land  to  preach  the  newly  found  truth. 

Though  rejected  at  first  by  kindred  and  friends, 
he  continued  to  preach  to  the  Cubans  while  he  en- 
gaged in  the  practice  of  medicine,  the  art  which  he 


WORK    UNDER   CHANGED    CONDITIONS        229 

had  acquired  before  leaving  New  York.  In  spite 
of  persecution  he  laid  under  tribute  every  available 
agency  for  the  furtherance  of  the  truth  on  the  is- 
land. A  Baptist  mission  on  the  Florida  coast  at 
Key  West,  established  in  the  interest  of  refugee 
Cubans  attracted  the  attention  of  Diaz,  which  re- 
sulted in  the  establishment  of  a  correspondence  be- 
tween him  and  Secretary  Tichenor.  Mutual  in- 
terest led  to  the  incorporation  of  Cuba  into  the 
field  of  the  Home  Mission  Board.  This  action  fur- 
nished the  occasion  of  much  enthusiasm  on  the 
part  of  Southern  Baptists,  which  was  equaled  alone 
by  the  enthusiasm  of  the  Cubans  in  behalf  of  their 
distinguished  young  countryman.  Taking  practi- 
cal advantage  of  the  prevailing  interest  in  the  Cu- 
ban mission  throughout  the  South,  Secretary  Tich- 
enor purchased  a  large  theatre  building  at  Havana, 
at  a  cost  of  seventy-five  thousand  dollars,  and  con- 
verted it  into  a  church.  In  addition  to  this  interest 
there  have  been  established  by  the  Board  a  school 
for  girls  and  a  hospital  for  women.  The  mission  in 
Cuba  was  achieving  extraordinary  results  until  the 
outbreak  of  the  rebellion  in  1895.  In  April,  1896, 
Diaz  was  arrested  and  no  doubt  would  have  been 
summarily  dealt  with  but  for  demonstrations  in  his 
behalf  throughout  the  South  and  to  a  large  extent 
throughout  the  Union. 

Another  feature  of  the  Home  Mission  Board  is 
that  of  planting  mission  stations  in  such  of  the 
cities  of  the  South  as  demand  them.     This  is  re- 


230  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

ceiving  notable  emphasis  in  New  Orleans.  Here 
it  has  steadily  fostered  the  work  in  the  midst  of 
prevailing  difficulties  and  has  been  instrumental 
in  maintaining  permanent  worship  at  the  three 
Baptist  strongholds  of  the  city — Coliseum  Place, 
First,  and  Valence  Street  Churches.  For  a  num- 
ber of  years  the  Board  published  an  organ  known 
as  "  The  Home  Field,"  which  was  consolidated 
with  the  "Foreign  Mission  Journal"  in  1895, 
under  the  direction  of  the  Southern  Baptist  Con- 
vention ;  but  in  1896  the  Convention  again  disso- 
ciated the  journalistic  interests  of  the  two  Boards, 
and  left  them  to  their  discretion  concerning  the 
adoption  of  organs  for  the  future.  The  result  was 
that  the  Foreign  Board  re-established  "  The  Foreign 
Mission  Journal,"  while  the  Home  Board  proposed 
to  adopt  the  columns  of  the  State  denominational 
papers  as  a  medium  of  communication  with  the 
masses  of  the  people.  In  entering  upon  its  special 
work  in  1845,  the  Foreign  Mission  Board  was  re- 
lieved of  much  embarrassment  by  finding  a  field  al- 
ready open  by  reason  of  the  peculiar  relations 
which  certain  missionaries  in  China  and  Africa  sus- 
tained to  the  Baptists  of  the  South.  Messrs.  J.  L. 
Shuck  and  I.  J.  Roberts,  as  a  matter  of  choice  per- 
sonal to  themselves,  were  transferred  from  the 
Northern  Board  to  the  Foreign  Board  of  the  South- 
ern Baptist  Convention. 

The  difficulties  encountered  by  the  Foreign  Board 
in  gaining  headway  in  the  South  have  already  been 


WORK    UNDER    CHANGED    CONDITIONS         231 

noticed.  Especially  in  the  early  stages  of  its  his- 
tory, it  was  largely  dependent  upon  the  missionary 
enlightenment  imparted  through  the  Home  Board. 
During  the  first  eighteen  years  of  its  history,  the 
Foreign  Board  sent  out  twenty-two  missionaries, 
viz.  :  Messrs.  Clopton,  James,  Gaillard,  Holmes, 
Bond,  Roberts,  Tobey,  Whilden,  Johnson,  Shuck, 
Pearcy,  Cabaniss,  Burton,  Yates,  Crawford,  Schiel- 
ding,  Hartwell,  and  Graves,  together  with  Mrs. 
Shuck,  Mrs.  Graves,  Mrs.  James,  Mrs.  Whilden, 
Mrs.  Bond,  and  Miss  Baker.  Within  the  period 
named  five  had  died  upon  the  field,  Messrs.  Clop- 
ton, James,  Gaillard,  Holmes,  and  Bond.  Mrs. 
Whilden,  Mrs.  Shuck,  Mrs.  James,  and  Mrs.  Bond 
had  also  passed  away,  and  Mr.  Roberts  had  retired 
from  the  service  of  the  Board.  Eight  had  returned 
permanently  to  America,  viz.,  Messrs.  Tobey, 
Whilden,  Johnson,  Shuck,  Pearcy,  Cabaniss,  Bur- 
ton, and  Miss  Baker.  The  China  mission  would 
have  been  reinforced  in  1861  by  three  others,  but 
the  outbreak  of  the  war  interfered  with  their  sail- 
ing. During  the  period  named  twelve  missionaries 
were  maintained  upon  the  field  :  Messrs.  Yates, 
Crawford,  Schieling,  Hartwell,  and  Graves,  with 
their  wives,  together  with  Mrs.  Gaillard  and  Mrs. 
Holmes.  Meanwhile  the  labors  of  several  native 
assistants  were  being  enjoyed. 

The  first  points  occupied  by  the  Board  were 
Canton  and  Shanghai,  to  which  were  subsequently 
added  the  stations  of  Shin-Hing,  Chefu,  and  Tung 


232  HISTOKY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

Chow.  In  addition  to  preaching  the  gospel,  the 
missionaries  were  engaged  in  the  establishment  and 
direction  of  schools,  the  erection  of  chapels,  and  the 
distribution  of  literature.  Tours  were  frequent  into 
the  interior  of  the  empire,  where  the  gospel  was 
preached  to  many  thousands.  During  the  first 
eighteen  years  of  the  operations  of  the  Board  in 
China,  more  than  one  hundred  converts  had  been 
received,  but  the  faithful  labors  of  the  missionaries 
were  regarded  as  prospective  rather  than  as  imme- 
diate in  their  results. 

From  1849  to  1863  there  had  been  appointed 
sixteen  missionaries  to  Yoruba,  Africa.  In  1849 
Missionary  J.  F.  Bowen  had  founded  this  original 
mission  in  Africa  and  had  o])ened  the  way  for  future 
operation.  Among  the  earliest  of  the  appointments 
of  the  Board  upon  the  African  field  was  Missionary 
Harden,  a  devoted  colored  preacher  at  Lagos,  and 
Messrs.  Goodale  and  Denmore,  together  with  Mrs. 
Denmore,  Mrs.  Reid,  and  Mrs.  Phillips,  who  died 
upon  the  mission  field  in  Africa.  Of  the  sixteen 
just  alluded  to,  two  were  prevented  from  sailing. 
This  reduced  the  force  of  the  African  Mission  to 
Messrs.  Harden  and  Stone  and  their  wives,  together 
with  Messrs.  Reid  and  Phillips.  Missionary  sta- 
tions had  been  established  at  Lagos,  Abbeokuta, 
Ijaye,  Ogbomishaw,  and  Awyaw.  Up  to  1863  the 
missionaries  upon  the  African  field  could  number 
about  fifty  converts.  Meanwhile  an  effort  was  made 
to  found  a  mission  in  Brazil,  and  J.  T.  Bowen  was 


WORK    UNDER    CHANGED    CONDITIONS         233 

assigned  to  that  new  field,  but  broken  health  forced 
him  to  abandon  it.  Early  in  the  sixties  arrange- 
ments were  made  for  the  establishment  of  a  mission 
in  Japan,  and  Messrs.  C.  H.  Toy,  Johnson,  and 
Rhorer  were  appointed  to  that  new  field,  but  the 
Civil  War  interfered  with  the  sailing  of  the  first 
two,  and  the  third  perished  at  sea.  The  mission 
was  abandoned  until  1889. 

The  Liberian  Mission  had  been  the  most  fruitful 
in  its  results.  It  was  among  the  earliest  ventures 
of  the  Board,  and  was  conducted  almost  exclusively 
by  colored  missionaries,  though  the  Board  had  com- 
missioned two  white  preachers,  Messrs.  Ball  and 
Kingdon,  as  special  assistants  to  the  work  of  the 
mission.  Mr.  Kingdon  soon  fell  a  martyr  to  the 
cause,  as  the  African  climate  was  entirely  too  severe 
for  his  constitution. 

Up  to  1863  twenty-four  stations  had  been  estab- 
lished in  foreign  parts  by  the  Board,  and  twenty 
pastors  and  twent}'-six  teachers  had  been  employed. 
Twelve  hundred  members  had  been  gathered  into 
all  the  churches  upon  the  foreign  field,  and  seven 
hundred  pupils  had  been  brought  into  the  schools. 
This  indicates  the  first  work  accomplished  by  the 
Board,  and  represents  the  period  up  to  the  closing 
of  the  Southern  ports  and  the  consequent  suspension 
of  communication  with  the  outside  world.  It  was 
a  period  of  darkness  and  perplexity  to  the  Board 
when,  as  a  result  of  the  great  American  war,  its 
missionaries,  laboring  upon  two  distant  continents, 


234  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

could  not  be  communicated  Avith,  In  China  the 
missionaries  were  not  only  perplexed  by  the  sever- 
ance of  communication  with  their  native  land  be- 
cause of  an  American  War,  but  were  harassed  also 
by  a  prevailing  Chinese  war.  With  characteristic 
courage,  Mr.  Crawford,  one  of  the  devoted  mission- 
aries, wrote  :  "  War  or  no  war,  the  mission  must  go 
on.  We  can  live  notwithstanding  the  wars  of  China 
and  America."  Taking  advantage  of  their  positions, 
the  Baptists  of  Maryland  and  of  Kentucky  trans- 
mitted funds,  from  time  to  time,  to  the  members  of 
the  Chinese  Mission.  By  means  of  this  help  and  the 
makeshifts  which  the  missionaries  in  China  were  en- 
abled to  adopt,  they  tided  over  the  period  covered  by 
the  years  of  conflict.  The  most  formidable  foe  en- 
countered by  the  missionaries  of  the  Southern  Board 
during  this  trying  period  was  the  Asiatic  cholera, 
which  served  greatly  to  enhance  the  difficulties  aris- 
ing from  the  two  wars  from  which  the  missionaries 
suffered.  It  was  a  dismal  period  for  the  China  Mis- 
sion— congregations  were  scattered,  schools  broken 
up,  chapels  burned,  and  one  of  the  most  devoted  of 
the  missionaries,  J.  L.  Holmes,  was  murdered  near 
Chefu. 

With  the  restoration  of  peace  came  the  enlarge- 
ment of  the  missionary  operations  of  the  Foreign 
Board.  After  mature  deliberation,  the  Board  re- 
solved upon  the  establishment  of  a  mission  in  Italy 
in  1870.  Dr.  W.  N.  Cote,  the  son  of  a  converted 
Roman  Catholic  priest,  was  the  pioneer  missionary 


WORK    UNDER    CHANGED    CONDITIONS         235 

to  Italy.  He  succeeded  in  baptizing  twelve  con- 
verts during  the  first  year  of  the  mission,  and  near 
the  close  of  the  year  was  prepared  to  organize  at 
Rome  a  Baptist  church  with  eighteen  members. 
Dr.  John  A.  Broadus,  who  was  at  that  time  making 
a  European  tour,  and  was  present  at  the  organiza- 
tion of  this  original  church,  wrote  from  Rome  in 
January,  1871  :  "  I  am  thoroughly  satisfied  that 
the  Board  has  acted  wisely  in  establishing  this  mis- 
sion, and  I  should  exclaim  vehemently  against  any 
idea  of  abandoning  it."  In  1873,  Dr.  Geo.  B.  Tay- 
lor, of  Virginia,  was  appointed  superintendent  of 
Italian  missions.  He  succeeded  in  opening  a  hand- 
some chapel  in  Rome,  in  1878,  costing  twenty-seven 
thousand  dollars,  since  which  time  regular  services 
have  been  held  in  that  city.  In  November,  1880, 
Rev.  J.  H.  Eager,  of  Mississippi,  was  sent  to  rein- 
force Dr.  Taylor.  The  situation  in  Italy  was  por- 
trayed thus  by  Mrs.  Eager  in  1887  : 

Before  1848  there  was  not  one  publicly  declared  Evan- 
gelical in  the  whole  of  Italy,  except  in  the  Waldensian 
Valleys.  From  1848  to  1859,  the  gospel  was  preached 
in  Piedmont  only.  Until  1870  not  one  Eoman  dared 
proclaim  himself  Evangelical,  and  no  foreign  Protestant 
could  worship  within  the  Avails  of  Kome.  Now,  in  1887, 
there  are  eight  thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty-one 
church-members,  one  thousand  two  hundred  and  twenty- 
two  catechumens,  four  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
fifty-eight  Sunday-school  pupils,  eighty-two  colporters, 
one  hundred  and  ninety-two  preachers,  two  hundred  and 
fifty-six  churches  and  stations,  five  orphan  asylums,  and 
nine  religious  newspapers,  either  monthly  or  weekly. 


236  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

On  leaving  America,  whither  he  had  come  in  1889 
to  raise  money  for  the  erection  of  chapels  in  Italy, 
Dr.  J.  H.  Eager  wrote  :  "  Oh,  for  the  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars  spent  in  the  churches  of  New  York 
City  on  Easter  Day  for  flowers  ! " 

The  Brazilian  Mission  being  abandoned  in  1860, 
in  consequence  of  Missionary  Bowen's  health,  it  was 
not  undertaken  again  until  1879,  when  E.  H.  Quil- 
lian  was  appointed  a  missionary  at  Santa  Barbara. 
In  1881  the  Brazilian  Mission  was  reinforced  by 
the  appointment  of  W.  B.  Bagby  and  wife,  and  the 
next  year  after  by  Z.  C.  Taylor  and  wife,  all  of 
Texas.  The  mission  has  been  a  reasonably  prosper- 
ous one. 

The  most  fruitful  and  progressive  department  of 
work  under  the  Foreign  Mission  Board  is  that  of 
the  Mexican  Mission.  The  way  for  the  occupation 
of  that  republic  by  the  missionaries  of  the  Southern 
Baptist  Convention  was  providentially  opened  by 
the  migration  of  a  body  of  Texans  into  Mexico. 
Establishing  a  chain  of  settlements,  they  organized 
churches,  and  from  the  beginning  received  some 
accessions  from  the  Mexican  population.  The 
leaders  of  this  movement  were  the  brothers,  West- 
rup,  both  of  whom  had  been  previously  supported 
in  the  State  of  Coahuila  by  the  Texas  Baptist  State 
Convention.  One  of  these,  John  O.  Westrup,  hav- 
ing been  barbarously  murdered  by  the  Mexicans 
and  Indians,  his  brother  assumed  direction  of  the 
entire  work.     Appealing  to  the  Foreign  Board  for 


WORK    UNDER   CHANGED   CONDITIONS        237 

help,  he  was,  in  1882,  reinforced  by  W.  M.  Flour- 
ney  and  wife.  During  the  same  year,  W.  D. 
Powell  and  wife,  of  Texas,  and  Miss  Annie  J. 
Mayberry  were  appointed  to  the  same  work,  and 
stationed  at  Saltillo.  This  was  the  beginning  of  a 
grand  onward  march  into  Mexico.  According  to  a 
comprehensive  and  systematic  plan,  the  region  pro- 
posed to  be  evangelized  w^as  divided  into  missionary 
districts,  and  the  missionaries  were  stationed  at 
certain  commanding  points.  In  this  way,  a  line  of 
missions  was  established  from  the  Rio  Grande  to  the 
Pacific  Ocean.  Between  the  years  1882-1889,  the 
following  missionaries,  together  with  Senors  Car- 
denas, Rodriguez,  Gomez,  and  other  natives,  entered 
the  field  of  the  Mexican  Mission — Misses  Tupper 
and  Barton,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wilson,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
McCormick,  Miss  Cabaniss,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mosely, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Watkins,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Chastain, 
and  Mrs.  Duggan.  The  qualities  of  leadership 
possessed  by  W.  D.  Powell  made  him  the  acknowl- 
edged director  of  the  Mexican  Mission.  Wise  in 
conception,  resolute  of  purpose,  courageous  in  execu- 
tion, irresistible  in  energy,  and  yet  gentle  in  dispo- 
sition and  consecrated  at  heart — Powell  combines 
all  the  elements  of  a  great  missionary  leader  in  a 
region  like  Mexico.  From  the  beginning,  his 
career  in  that  new  field  of  missions  has  been  dis- 
tinguished by  the  most  signal  success.  He  is  able 
readily  to  respond  to  the  emergencies  which  neces- 
sarily arise  in  such  a  region  and  amid  such  a  people 


238  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

as  the  Mexicans.  In  the  adohe  hnt  of  the  lowly 
Mexican,  npon  the  remote  ranch,  in  the  crowded 
mart,  before  the  frenzied  mob,  in  the  presence  of  the 
highest  officers  of  State,  or  in  the  most  cultured  as- 
semblage— he  is  equally  the  master  of  the  situation. 
Fired  with  a  consecrated  earnestness,  he  sways  the 
Mexican  mind  with  a  magical  power.  Writing  of 
his  work  in  1889,  he  says  : 

We  have  carried  the  Avork  from  the  Texas  border  to 
the  Pacific  coast.  Opposition  is  waning.  I  almost  uni- 
versally meet  a  warm  welcome.  The  government  gives 
us  full  ijrotection.  The  leading  dailies  in  the  city  of 
Mexico,  and  throughout  the  republic,  expose  Eomanism 
and  defend  our  cause.  The  clergy  have  lost  ground 
rapidly  during  the  past  two  years.  All  of  our  churches 
and  mission  stations  report  progress  and  prosperity. 
Our  force  of  workers  is  insufficient  to  occupy  the  terri- 
tory already  open  to  us.  We  have  eighteen  American, 
and  fifteen  native,  workers.  There  are  eighteen  organ- 
ized churches  and  some  six  hundred  members.  "Truly 
this  is  the  Lord's  doing  and  marvelous  in  our  eyes." 
.  .  .  All  our  central  stations  liave  been  established  at 
fine  strategic  points. 

The  youngest  of  the  enterprises  of  the  Foreign 
Mission  Board  is  the  Japanese  Mission.  It  was 
undertaken  in  1889  by  Missionaries  McCollum  and 
Branson,  and  their  wives.  Upon  the  retirement  of 
Mr.  Brunson,  the  mission  was  reinforced  by  the 
appointment  of  Messrs.  Walne  and  Maynard,  and 
their  wives.  Up  to  this  period,  the  work  has  been 
of  a  preparatory  character,  but  its  progress  had  been 
most  encouraging. 


WORK    UNDER   CHANGED    CONDITIOXS        239 

Amoncr  other  eiforts  made  bv  the  Soathern  Bap- 
list  Convention  was  the  organization,  in  1851,  of 
the  Bible  Board  established  for  colportage  purposes. 
Previous  to  this,  eiforts  had  been  made  in  some  of 
the  States,  notably  in  Alabama  and  Virginia,  to 
establish  and  maintain  local  Bible  Boards,  but  they 
had  failed.  Nor  did  this  larger  and  more  preten- 
tious undertaking  succeed.  Publication  work  by  a 
denomination  is  invariably  attended  by  more  or  less 
peril.  After  a  struggle  of  twelve  years,  the  Bible 
Board  of  the  Southern  Baptist  Convention  was  dis- 
continued. The  failure  was  largely  due  to  the  fact 
that  with  increased  facilities  of  transportation,  the 
American  Bible  Society  established  its  auxiliaries 
and  its  colportage  system  throughout  the  South. 

The  Southern  Baptist  Publication  Society  never 
had  organic  connection  with  the  Convention,  but 
was  a  private  enterprise.  It  never  succeeded.  As 
the  American  Baptist  Publication  Society  came  t.o 
supply  the  demands  for  denominational  literature 
in  the  South,  the  other  gradually  retired  and  finally 
disappeared  altogether.  In  1863,  the  Sunday- 
school  Board  of  the  Southern  Baptist  Convention 
was  born.  It  likewise  perished,  its  span  of  life 
being  measured  by  the  period  of  a  single  decade. 
There  was  a  revival  of  this  suspended  interest  at  the 
session  of  the  Southern  Baptist  Convention  in  1891. 
This  was  the  result  of  the  agitation  of  the  question 
of  Sunday-school  literature,  the  Convention  decid- 
ing to  organize  its  own  Board  for  the  publication  of 


240  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

this  matter,  but  distinctly  adopted  the  conservative 
proviso  "  that  the  fullest  freedom  of  choice  be  ac- 
corded to  every  one  as  to  what  literature  he  will  use 
or  support,  and  that  no  brother  be  disparaged  in  the 
slightest  degree  on  account  of  what  he  may  do  in 
the  exercise  of  his  right  as  Christ's  freeman."  Dr. 
J.  M.  Frost,  the  author  of  the  resolutions  reviving 
the  Board,  became  its  first  secretary,  but  retired 
after  the  lapse  of  a  year,  when  Dr.  T.  P.  Bell,  then 
assistant  secretary  of  the  Foreign  Mission  Board, 
was  elected  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Sunday- 
school  Board.  Retiring  in  the  latter  part  of  1895, 
to  take  charge  of  the  "  Christian  Index,"  at  Atlanta, 
Georgia,  Dr.  Bell  was  succeeded  by  Dr.  Frost,  who 
was  called  again  to  the  charge  of  the  affairs  of  the 
Board.  The  headquarters  of  the  Board  are  in 
Nashville,  Tennessee.  Under  its  auspices  are  issued 
"  The  Teacher,"  the  quarterlies  of  different  grades, 
leaflets  and  cards,  together  with  "  The  Young 
People's  Leader."  The  receipts  of  the  Sunday- 
school  Board  for  the  year  ending  May,  1896,  were 
sixty-two  thousand  eight  hundred  and  forty-one  dol- 
lars and  twelve  cents.  The  contributions  to  benevo- 
lence were  made  as  follows  :  To  the  Foreign  Board, 
two  thousand  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  dollars 
and  ninety-three  cents ;  to  the  Home  Board,  two 
thousand  one  hundred  and  thirty-nine  dollars  and 
twenty-one  cents ;  to  Sunday-school  Mission  work, 
three  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eighty-seven  dol- 
lars and  fifty  cents. 


CHAPTER  X 

THE    SOUTHEEN    BAPTIST    THEOLOGICAL    SEMINARY 

A  S  has  already  been  shown,  one  of  the  matters  of 
-^^  chief  concern  with  the  denomination  builders 
of  the  South  was  that  of  preparing  the  way  for  a 
more  enlightened  and  better  qualified  ministry. 
This  subject  engaged  the  attention  of  the  most  pro- 
gressive of  the  Baptist  ministry  of  the  States  of  the 
South  as  early  as  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury. With  the  opening  years  of  the  present  cen- 
tury, the  importance  of  a  more  intelligent  ministry 
was  emphasized  by  two  imperative  considerations — 
the  growing  intelligence  of  the  masses,  and  the 
steady  intellectual  advancement  of  the  ministry  of 
other  denominations.  At  this  early  period  plans 
were  devised  for  meeting  existing  demands,  but  they 
were  necessarily  crude,  as  has  been  shown  in  a  pre- 
vious chapter.  From  this  desire  to  possess  a  more 
able  ministry  has  grown  all  our  denominational  col- 
leges for  young  men.  Indeed  this  idea  was  the 
germ  of  most  of  our  denominational  advancement, 
for  it  was  not  dissociated  from  that  of  missions  in 
the  minds  of  the  founders  of  our  general  denomina- 
tional organizations  in  all  the  States.  While  the 
denomination  was  getting  in  readiness  for  this  on- 

Q  241 


242  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

ward  movement,  another  event  occurred  in  a  distant 
quarter  of  the  globe  which  contributed  most  mate- 
rially to  the  enhancement  of  its  importance.  Ado- 
niram  Judson  and  Luther  Rice  decided  in  India  that 
it  would  be  necessary  for  one  to  return  to  America 
and  organize  means  for  the  support  of  the  other 
who  might  remain  upon  the  foreign  field.  The 
return  of  Rice,  in  whose  mind  lay  the  associated 
ideas  of  intellectual  advancement  and  denomina- 
tional expansion,  was  most  opportune  for  the  pro- 
motion of  a  cherished  purpose  which  had  long  en- 
raged the  attention  of  the  most  advanced  elements 
of  the  denomination.  Every  Baptist  college  in  the 
South  took  root  in  these  early  plans  and  endeavors. 
Founded  originally  upon  the  idea  of  a  better  pre- 
pared ministry,  the  earliest  Baptist  schools  were 
soon  forced  to  respond  to  a  general  demonstration  to 
provide  means  for  the  education  of  those  looking  to 
other  vocations  than  that  of  the  ministry.  This  led 
to  the  next  stage  of  development,  that  of  providing 
a  theological  department  in  connection  with  a  purely 
literary  course.  Provision  was  made  for  a  single 
chair  in  connection  with  such  a  theological  course  as 
was  p-iven  under  such  circumstances.  This  served  the 
purpose,  after  a  fashion,  for  a  period  of  years ;  but 
it  eventually  became  unsatisfactory.  Baptist  can- 
didates for  the  ministry  in  search  of  the  most  com- 
prehensive scholarship  attainable,  began  to  go  North 
in  order  to  avail  themselves  of  the  advanced  instruc- 
tion afforded  at  Newton,  Hamilton,  and  Princeton. 


SOUTHERN  BAPTIST  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY    243 

Among  such  as  sought  these  better  facilities  may  be 
named  J.  P.  Boyce,  J.  W.  M.  Williams,  S.  C.  Clop- 
ton,  H.  A.  Tupper,  Sr.,  E.  T.  Winkler,  and  Basil 
Manly,  Jr.  The  impression  produced  upon  their 
minds  of  the  incomparable  advantages  enjoyed  in  a 
theological  seminary  above  those  of  a  theological 
annex  to  a  literary  institution,  made  them  earnest 
advocates  of  a  seminary  for  the  South.  They  found 
ready  co-operators  in  such,  men  as  J.  B.  Jeter,  W. 
B.  Johnson,  and  R.  B.  C.  Howell. 

The  attention  which  had  been  devoted  to  the 
general  subject  for  so  long  a  time,  and  the  attempts 
which  had  been  made  to  meet  the  prevailing  defi- 
ciency in  the  denomination,  had  created  a  profound 
conviction  of  the  necessity  of  a  separate  institution 
for  the  training  of  the  Baptist  ministry  of  the  South. 
Consequently  one  of  the  earliest  questions  con- 
sidered, after  the  organization  of  the  Southern  Bap- 
tist Convention,  was  that  of  the  possibility  of  found- 
ing a  Southern  seminary.  At  Augusta,  Ga.,  in 
1845,  a  conference  of  delegates  from  several  States 
was  held  in  the  interest  of  the  proposed,  institution. 
The  question  came  up  for  consideration  two  years 
later,  in  1847,  at  the  meeting  of  the  Indian  Mission 
Association  at  Nashville,  Tenn.  Two  years  later 
still.  Dr.  W.  B.  Johnson  sought  to  secure  a  meet- 
ing of  the  delegates  to  the  Southern  Baptist  Con- 
vention from  South  Carolina,  at  Aiken,  prior  to 
the  meeting  of  the  general  body  in  order  to  gain 
co-operation  in   urging  the   claims  of  the  Furman 


244  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

Theological  Institution  as  a  nucleus  of  such  semi- 
nary ;  but  the  eifort  failed.  Similar  attempts  were 
afterward  made  by  other  institutions,  among  which 
was  Mercer  University,  Georgia,  but  without  suc- 
cess. The  question  gradually  became  one  of  gen- 
eral comment,  and  eventually  led  to  a  discussion  in 
the  denominational  papers  between  Drs.  R.  B.  C. 
Howell  and  Robert  Ryland.  The  chief  objection 
urged  by  Dr.  Ryland  against  the  founding  of  such 
an  institution  was  that  it  would  require  an  endow- 
ment of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  and  that 
could  not  be  raised. 

When  the  Southern  Baptist  Convention  met  at 
Charleston,  in  1849,  Dr.  W.  B.  Johnson,  the  pre- 
siding offcer  of  the  body,  presented  before  an  edu- 
cational meeting,  in  a  learned  and  elaborate  address, 
the  claims  of  a  theological  seminary.  He  was  sup- 
ported by  Basil  Manly,  Jr.  Still  no  practical  action 
was  taken. 

In  1854  the  General  Association  of  Virginia 
proposed  that  at  the  meeting  of  the  Southern  Bap- 
tist Convention  for  that  year,  at  Montgomery,  Ala., 
"  the  friends  of  theological  education "  consider 
the  claims  of  a  seminary.  This  is  understood  to 
have  emanated  from  Dr.  J.  B.  Jeter,  who  was  an 
earnest  advocate  of  a  theological  seminary  many 
years  before  the  consummation  of  the  enterprise. 
At  Montgomery,  resolutions  were  offered  by  Dr.  A. 
M.  Poindexter  and  unanimously  adopted  to  the  eifect 
"  that  in  the  opinion  of  this  meeting  it  is  demanded 


SOUTHERN  BAPTIST  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY    245 

by  the  interests  of  the  cause  of  truth  that  the  Bap- 
tists of  the  South  and  Southwest  unite  in  establishing 
a  theological  institution  of  high  grade."  To  this 
was  given  the  practical  sanction  of  a  meeting  solely 
in  the  interest  of  the  proposed  seminary,  to  be  held 
the  following  April  in  Augusta,  Ga.  There  came 
to  this  last-named  meeting  representatives  from  nine 
States  and  the  District  of  Columbia.  A  large  and 
able  committee,  of  which  Dr.  Basil  Manly,  Sr., 
was  the  chairman,  reported  "that  from  various 
causes  they  found  the  subject  embarrassed  by  diffi- 
culties at  every  point,  which  it  is  useless  here  to 
discuss,  as  it  is  impossible  to  decide  whether  they 
are  insuperable."  But  this  declaration  did  not 
afford  satisfaction  to  many  who  were  intent  upon 
the  establishment  of  a  seminary  for  theological  in- 
struction. 

Another  meeting  still  was  appointed  to  be  held 
a  year  later,  and  in  order  to  afford  ample  time  for 
the  consideration  of  the  matter,  it  w^as  agreed  to 
meet  two  days  in  advance  of  the  Convention.  To 
prepare  the  way  for  practical  action,  a  committee, 
consisting  of  B.  Manly,  Sr.,  A.  M.  Poindexter,  and 
J.  B.  Jeter,  was  directed  to  report  to  the  said  meet- 
ing at  Louisville  : 

1.  What  funds  exist  subject  to  the  control  of  the  Bap- 
tists for  theological  instruction  in  each  of  the  institutions 
of  the  South  and  Southwest ;  whether  the  trustees  or 
other  parties  holding  legal  control  over  these  funds 
can  and  will  contribute  them  in  any  form — and  if  any, 


246  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

what — to  the  uses  of  a  common  theological  institution 
to  be  located  at  any  other  point  within  or  without  the 
limits  of  their  own  States  severally,  should  the  aforesaid 
Convention,  to  assemble  at  Louisville  in  1857,  adjudge 
such  different  location  best  for  the  common  good ; 
whether  these  funds,  in  case  they  are  limited  to  a  spot, 
can  and  will  be  placed  within  the  control  of  such  a  Board 
of  trustees  as  may  be  appointed  by  competent  authority 
agreed  upon  for  a  common  theological  institution. 

Besides  this  the  committee  was  authorized  and 
requested, 

2.  To  use  adequate  means  for  ascertaining  what  efforts 
will  be  made  in  favor  of  any  location,  already  occupied 
or  not,  by  the  inhabitants  and  friends  thereof,  and  what 
pecuniary  subscriptions  or  pledges  will  be  given  as  a 
nucleus  in  case  such  location  should  be  selected  for  the 
common  institution  ;  the  object  of  all  these  inquiries 
being  to  ascertain,  in  the  fullest  manner  possible, 
whether  such  a  demand  is  felt  for  a  common  institution 
as  may  be  a  basis  and  encouragement  for  future  united 
action. 

The  plan  thus  proposed  was  the  product  of  the 
brain  of  James  P.  Boyce.  Up  to  this  time,  the 
hope  had  been  indulged  that  the  departments  for 
theological  instruction  connected  with  the  Baptist 
institutions  throughout  the  South  might  be  com- 
bined into  such  an  institution  as  was  now  contem- 
plated.    But  this  idea  was  now  given  up  altogether. 

When  in  July,  1856,  the  Baptist  State  Convention 
of  South  Carolina  met  at  Greenville,  Prof.  James  P. 
Boyce,  of  the  theological  department  of  Furman 


SOUTHERN  BAPTIST  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY    247 

University,  induced  the  Convention  to  propose  to 
the  contemplated  Educational  Convention  to  be  held 
at  Louisville,  Kentucky,  to  establish  at  Greenville, 
South  Carolina,  a  common  theological  mstitution, 
proposing  to  turn  over  the  funds,  to  the  amount  of 
about  thirty  thousand  dollars,  then  held  by  the 
Board  of  Trustees  for  theological  instruction,  to  the 
proposed  institution.  To  this  amount  it  was  pro- 
posed to  add  such  a  sum  as  would  make  the  total 
one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  to  be  raised  in  South 
Carolina,  provided  an  additional  one  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars  could  be  procured  from  the  other  States 

of  the  South. 

The  matter  was  now  beginning  to  assume  practi- 
cal shape,  the  whole  question,  however,  turning  upon 
the  possibility  of  collecting  seventy  thousand  dollars 
within  nine  months  in  South  Carolina. 

In  May,  1857,  the  Educational  Convention  which 
was  to  precede  the  meeting  of  the  Southern  Baptist 
Convention,    at    Louisville,    Kentucky,    was   held. 
There  were  present  eighty-eight  delegates  from  the 
States  of  Maryland,  Virginia,  the  Carolinas,  Geor- 
gia,   Alabama,    Mississippi,    Louisiana,    Arkansas, 
Tennessee,    and   Kentucky.     The    proposal   which 
came  from  the  South  Carolina  Convention  furnished 
the  occasion  for  much  enthusiasm,  especially  since 
Professor  Boyce    and  others  assured  the  delegates 
that  the  proposal  as  made  by  the  South  Carolma 
Baptists  would  be  fully  complied  with.     The  inter- 
est deepened  as  the  hope  of  founding  a  seminary 


248  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

grew  brighter.  At  this  juncture  the  executive  skill 
of  James  P.  Boyce  for  the  first  time  became  con- 
spicuous. He  formed  a  plan  for  the  establishment 
of  the  seminary  at  Greenville,  South  Carolina,  the 
following  year,  provided  the  sum  of  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars  be  raised  in  that  State  by  May 
1,  1858,  ready  to  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  the 
Board  of  Trustees.  The  interest  accruing  from 
this  sum,  seven  thousand  dollars,  was  to  be  used  for 
the  support  of  three  professors,  for  the  purchase  of 
books  (not  exceeding  five  hundred  dollars  annually), 
and  for  paying  a  proper  agency  in  other  States  to 
raise  the  additional  one  hundred  thousand  dollars ; 
provided  also,  that  recitation  and  lecture  rooms 
could  be  secured  in  Greenville,  for  a  number  of 
years,  free  of  rent.  It  was  finally  arranged  that 
if  the  additional  one  hundred  thousand  dollars 
should  not  be  raised  within  the  period  of  three 
years,  then  the  amount  furnished  by  South  Carolina 
should  revert  to  Furman  University,  to  be  devoted 
to  theological  purposes,  and  the  contributions  col- 
lected elsewhere,  to  their  respective  donors.  The 
wisdom  of  such  a  plan  is  at  once  apparent.  Here 
were  checks  and  balances,  bold  inspiration  and  dis- 
creet protection  at  every  point.  A  special  educa- 
tional meeting  was  provided  for  at  Greenville,  South 
Carolina,  for  May,  1858,  to  consummate  the  plans 
already  indicated,  provided  the  South  Carolina  Con- 
vention should  accept  the  conditions.  Committees 
were  appointed,  meanwhile,  to  prepare  a  plan  of 


SOUTHERN  BAPTIST  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY    249 

organization,  to  nominate  a  faculty,  secure  a  charter 
from  the  legislature  of  South  Carolina,  provide  for 
the  canvass  of  the  States  of  the  South,  and  to  issue 
an  address  to  Southern  Baptists.  It  is  a  noteworthy 
fact  that  the  members  of  the  committee  on  plan  of 
organization,  named  by  the  venerable  president  of 
the  meeting,  Dr.  Basil  Manly,  Sr.,  were  afterward 
elected  to  fill  chairs  in  the  seminary,  viz.,  James  P. 
Boyce,  John  A.  Broadus,  Basil  Manly,  Jr.,  E.  T. 
Winkler,  and  William  Williams. 

It  fell  to  the  lot  of  Dr.  Jeter  to  prepare  the  ad- 
dress to  the  Baptists  of  the  South.  With  his 
usual  vigor  of  style,  he  showed  that  an  institution 
like  a  theological  seminary  was  needed,  and  that 
Southern  Baptists  had  been  seeking  to  found  such 
for  a  number  of  years.  He  further  showed  the  pro- 
priety of  establishing  the  seminary  at  Greenville, 
South  Carolina,  because  of  its  accessibility,  health- 
fulness,  and  cheapness  of  living.  In  presenting  the 
plan  of  organization,  he  insisted  that  the  seminary, 

being  free  from  the  shackles  imposed  by  the  old  systems 
and  established  precedents,  and  having  all  the  lights  and 
experience  and  observation  to  guide  us,  we  propose  to 
found  an  institution  suited  to  the  genius,  wants,  and 
circumstances  of  our  denomination,  in  which  shall  be 
taught,  with  special  attention,  the  true  principles  of  ex- 
pounding the  Scriptures,  and  the  art  of  preaching  eflfi- 
ciently  the  gospel  of  Christ. 

Assurance  was  given  that  prevailing  systems  in  the 
denominational   colleges   would    not   be   interfered 


250  HISTOEY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHEEN  STATES 

with,  but  would  be  encouraged    by    the    proposed 
seminary. 

The  South  Carolina  Baptist  State  Convention  met 
in  July  following  the  Louisville  meeting,  which  gave 
birth  to  the  seminary.  The  proposal  made  to  the 
South  Carolina  Baptists  to  raise  seventy  thousand 
dollars  was  accepted,  and  James  P.  Boyce  was  ap- 
pointed agent  to  raise  the  amount.  Accompanied 
by  a  driver,  he  traveled  South  Carolina  over  in  a 
two-horse  buggy  to  raise  the  quota  of  that  State. 
Though  the  task  was  a  laborious  one,  it  was  cheer- 
fully undertaken.  In  August,  Messrs.  Boyce, 
Broadus,  and  Manly  met  at  the  home  of  the  last- 
named,  in  Richmond,  to  arrange  an  abstract  of  doc- 
trinal principles  to  be  signed  by  each  professor,  to 
devise  the  legal  and  practical  arrangements  in  regard 
to  trustees  and  professors,  and  to  prepare  an  outline 
of  a  plan  of  instruction  for  the  seminary. 

The  year  went  past  and  the  last  of  the  educa- 
tional conventions  held  in  the  interest  of  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  seminary,  met  at  Greenville,  South 
Carolina,  on  May  1,  1858.  Five  days  were  spent 
in  the  discussion  of  plans  proposed  for  the  seminary, 
and  the  result  was  unanimity  of  sentiment  and  of 
action  throughout.  So  harmonious  was  the  body, 
after  carefully  reviewing  each  point,  that  every  fea- 
ture was  adopted  by  a  unanimous  vote.  Instead  of 
the  original  plan  of  three  professors.  Dr.  Boyce  now 
advised  the  appointment  of  four.  In  every  detail 
of  outline    and    execution   the  hand   of  James  P. 


SOUTHERN  BAPTIST  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY    251 

Boyce  was  actively  guiding.  He  had  raised  almost 
the  entire  amount  of  seventy  thousand  dollars. 
Through  his  agency,  the  church  building  occupied 
by  the  Baptists  at  Greenville,  previous  to  their 
entrance  into  their  handsome  edifice  in  another  por- 
tion of  the  town,  was  procured  for  the  use  of  the 
seminary.  This  building  rendered  valuable  service 
for  years,  affording  space  for  lecture  rooms  and  a 
library.  The  wisdom  of  Dr.  Boyce  was  conspicuous 
in  that  he  pronounced  against  the  idea  of  the  con- 
sumption of  funds  in  the  erection  of  buildings  until 
an  ample  endowment  for  instruction  had  been  se- 
cured. Though  the  temptation  was  frequent  to 
swerve  from  this  purpose,  Dr.  Boyce  held  firmly  to 
it,  and  the  wisdom  of  such  a  course  has  been  abun- 
dantly vindicated  by  the  events  of  thirty-five  years. 
In  giving  sanction  to  this  pronounced  expression  of 
Dr.  Boyce,  Dr.  Thomas  Curtis,  then  the  principal  of 
Limeston  (S.  C.)  Female  Institute,  said,  with  sonor- 
ous English  tones  and  rolling  r's  : 

The  requisites  for  an  institution  of  learning  are  three 
b's — bricks,  books,  brains.  Our  brethren  usually  begin 
at  the  wrong  end  of  the  three  b's  ;  they  spend  all  their 
money  for  bricks,  have  nothing  to  buy  books,  and  must 
take  such  brains  as  they  can  pick  up,  but  our  brethren 
ought  to  begin  at  the  other  end  of  the  three  b's. 

This  expression  was  caught  up  and  was  soon  spread 
all  over  the  country.^ 

1  Dr.  J.  A.  Broadus,  "  Memoirs  of  James  P.  Boyce,"  p.  153. 


252  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  liS'  SOUTHERN  STATES 

According  to  the  modified  plan,  four  professors 
were  elected — J.  P.  Boyce,  J.  A.  Broadus,  B. 
Manly,  Jr.,  and  E.  T.  Winkler.  Two  of  these, 
Broadus  and  Winkler,  declined.  This  together  with 
other  causes  led  to  the  delay  of  opening  the  semi- 
nary another  year.  In  May,  1859,  the  Board  of 
Trustees  of  the  seminary  met  at  Richmond,  in  con- 
nection with  the  Southern  Baptist  Convention. 
Drs.  Broadus  and  Winkler  were  again  elected  to 
chairs  in  the  seminary,  and  again  Dr.  Winkler  de- 
clined, whereupon  Dr.  William  Williams  Avas 
chosen,  and  in  the  fall  of  1859  the  first  session  was 
opened.  The  leaders  in  the  movement  to  establish 
a  seminary,  besides  those  mentioned  were,  J.  L. 
Burrows,  J.  B.  Taylor,  G.  W.  Samson,  R.  Furman, 
J.  W.  M.  Williams,  J.  O.  B.  Dargan,  J.  H.  De 
Votie,  D.  P.  Bestor,  J.  M.  Pendleton,  S.  L.  Helm, 
J.  L.  Dagg,  and  Samuel  Henderson.  These  men 
represented  the  influential  elements  of  the  denomi- 
nation throughout  the  South.  From  the  outset  the 
system  of  instruction  in  the  seminary  was  made 
elective,  and  sufficiently  flexible  to  be  easily  ad- 
justed to  the  ability  of  any  student  who  might 
desire  to  take  the  course.  The  first  session  opened 
prosperously  with  twenty-six  matriculates.  Of 
these,  ten  came  from  Virginia,  nine  from  South 
Carolina,  three  from  North  Carolina,  two  from 
Alabama,  one  from  Florida,  and  one  from  Missouri. 
"  This  was  a  far  larger  beginning  than  any  theolog- 
ical seminar}^  in  America  of  whatever  denomination 


SOUTHERN  BAPTIST  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY    253 

had  enjoyed  for  its  first  two  years."  ^  By  a  combi- 
nation of  the  influence  of  the  powerful  factors 
already  named,  the  additional  hundred  thousand 
dollars  was  secured  from  the  other  States  of  the 
South.  This,  together  with  the  success  which 
crowned  the  initial  session  of  the  seminary,  secured 
its  permanency.  Before  the  close  of  the  second 
session,  the  Civil  War  began,  and  from  1862  to 
1865  the  work  of  the  seminary  was  necessarily  sus- 
pended. The  professors  were  requested  to  retain 
their  connection  with  the  institution  until  the  close 
of  hostilities,  to  prevent  the  dissolution  of  the 
seminary.  Meanwhile,  their  salaries  were  continued, 
and  were  paid  in  Confederate  money,  the  privilege, 
however,  being  granted  them  to  engage  in  such 
other  pursuits  as  they  deemed  advisable,  while  they 
should  hold  official,  though  nominal,  connection 
Avith  the  institution.  In  consequence  of  this  priv- 
ilege, the  faculty  was  dispersed  in  different  direc- 
tions. Dr.  Boyce  becoming  chaplain  of  a  Confederate 
regiment,  and  later,  a  member  of  the  South  Carolina 
legislature.  Drs.  Manly  and  Williams  found  partial 
employment  as  country  pastors  in  the  regions  adja- 
cent to  Greenville,  while  Dr.  Broadus  divided  his 
time  between  country  pastorates,  missionary  work  in 
General  Lee's  army,  and  the  corresponding  secre- 
taryship of  the  Sunday-school  Board,  which  was  at 
that  time  located  at  Greenville. 

^Dr.  John  A.  Broadus,  in  "  First  Thirty  Years  of  the  Southern 
Baptist  Theological  Seminary,"  p.  11. 


254  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

During  the  summer  following  the  capitulation  of 
the  Confederate  armies,  the  members  of  the  semi- 
nary faculty  met  at  Greenville  to  consider  the  ad- 
visability of  attempting  to  resume  work  in  the  fall 
of  1865.  The  endowment  had  been  almost  totally 
destroyed  in  consequence  of  the  war,  five  thousand 
dollars  alone  remaining,  and  that  was  invested  in 
Georgia  Railroad  bonds  which  could  be  sold  for 
nearly  par.  In  order  to  open  the  seminary  in  the 
fall.  Dr.  Boyce  generously  contributed  one  thousand 
dollars  to  the  available  resources  of  the  seminary, 
although  his  own  private  affairs  were  critically  de- 
ranged by  the  war,  and  the  business  outlook  of  the 
country  was  quite  gloomy.  Fortunately  no  incubus 
of  debt  was  upon  the  seminary — a  calamity  which 
had  been  averted  by  the  sagacity  of  Dr.  Boyce. 

With  1865  began,  on  the  part  of  the  seminary,  a 
protracted  struggle  for  life.  Only  seven  students 
were  enrolled  during  the  first  session  after  the  close 
of  the  war.  But  the  noble  men  of  the  faculty  stood 
at  their  posts.  One  of  them  said,  "  The  seminary 
may  die,  but  suppose  it  be  understood  that  we'll  die 
first."  Fully  aware  of  the  arduous  and  self-sacri- 
ficing labors  which  awaited  them,  the  members  of 
the  faculty  cheerfully  resumed  the  direction  of  the 
affairs  of  the  seminary.  There  was  no  abatement 
of  interest  nor  the  slightest  indifference  to  instruc- 
tion because  of  the  slim  attendance.  Professors 
met  their  classes  as  promptly  as  they  would  have 
done  had  the    lecture    rooms    been  crowded.     Dr. 


SOUTHERN  BAPTIST  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY    255 

Broadus  gave  a  pretty  full  course  of  instruction  in 
homiletics  to  one  student  during  the  first  session 
after  the  war,  and  that  one  was  blind.  The  num- 
ber of  students  slowly  increased,  year  by  year,  but 
the  depressed  condition  of  the  country  suggested 
only  failure  continually.  Money  was  exceedingly 
scarce,  and  the  spirit  of  progress  seemed  to  have 
departed  from  the  South.  In  the  midst  of  these 
conditions,  these  brave  and  gifted  men  in  the  tem- 
porary quarters  at  Greenville  were  barely  able  some- 
times to  keep  the  wolf  from  the  door.  At  one  time, 
the  payment  of  the  salaries  fell  an  entire  year 
behind,  and  the  worst  of  it  was  there  was  no  assur- 
ance that  they  would  ever  be  paid.  Some  of  the 
professors  would  ride  on  horseback  considerable  dis- 
tances across  the  country  to  serve  rural  churches, 
and  not  infrequently  return  laden  with  food  for  their 
families.  The  lesson  of  rigid  economy  learned  dur- 
ing the  years  of  the  war  was  never  more  valuable 
than  at  this  time.  Nor  were  the  few  students  who 
strayed  through  the  halls,  and  occupied  the  seats  of 
the  lecture  rooms,  any  more  fortunate,  for  they  were 
frequently  reduced  to  very  great  straits.  In  this 
extremity,  friends  were  not  wanting.  Occasionally 
the  trying  tension  was  relieved  by  the  contribution 
of  some  generous  soul.  To  the  frequent  appeals 
made  by  Dr.  Boyce,  favorable  responses  would  now 
and  then  come,  but  oftener  they  would  not.  How- 
ever, there  were  never  lacking  some  who  gave  of 
their  hard  earnings  to  the  seminary. 


256  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

About  1870  a  few  generous  Baptists  at  the  North 
began  to  afford  some  aid.  This  was  at  first  given 
to  defray  the  personal  expenses  of  some  of  the 
students,  but  afterward  was  contributed  to  the  cur- 
rent expenses  of  the  institution.  As  soon  as  the 
condition  of  the  country  would  justify  it,  Dr.  Boyce 
began  the  organization,  at  the  meetings  of  the 
Southern  Baptist  Convention,  of  a  general  subscrip- 
tion for  the  payment  of  a  given  amount  each  year, 
for  five  years,  to  meet  current  expenses.  This 
course  was  pursued  at  two  sessions  of  the  conven- 
tion, and  served  the  purpose  admirably  of  assisting 
to  tide  the  seminary  over  difficult  straits.  But  it 
was  evident  that  this  could  not  long  continue.  One 
of  two  things  soon  became  necessary — to  give  up 
the  seminary  altogether,  with  no  probability  of  re- 
viving it  for  a  whole  generation,  or  to  endow  it. 
If  endowed,  the  seminary  must  be  removed.  The 
idea  of  endowment  suggested  that  foundation  work 
was  as  necessary  as  when  the  seminary  was  first 
instituted.  It  was  clear  that  in  order  to  endow- 
ment, the  seminary  would  have  to  be  removed  to 
some  State  that  woukl  be  willing  to  contribute  at 
least  one-half  of  the  endowment  fund.  In  the 
deplorable  condition  in  which  South  Carolina  then 
was,  it  would  be  impossible  to  realize  the  amount 
necessary  for  the  proposed  object.  At  that  time 
Furman  University  was  struggling  to  get  upon  its 
feet,  and  it  stood  in  urgent  need  of  every  dollar 
which   the   denomination   in   South  Carolina  could 


SOUTHEEN  BAPTIST  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY    257 

command.  While  the  question  of  removal  was  be- 
ing discussed,  offers  were  made  by  several  cities  in 
different  States  to  secure  for  themselves  the  location 
of  the  seminary.  It  was  finally  decided  to  remove 
it  to  Louisville,  Ky.  South  Carolina  was  being 
abandoned  only  in  response  to  a  call  of  stern  ne- 
cessity. All  the  members  of  the  faculty  were  about 
to  sunder  their  connection  with  their  former  sur- 
roundings, not  without  great  grief.  This  was  espe- 
cially true  of  Dr.  Boyce,  who  w^as  devoted  to  his 
native  State,  and  the  more  so  now  because  of  her 
prostrate  condition.  Dr.  Boyce  preceded  the  re- 
moval of  the  seminary  to  Louisville,  where  he  had 
been  engaged  for  several  years  in  working  up  the 
endowment. 

In  1887  the  seminary  opened  its  doors  in  its  new 
home  in  the  West.  There  was  an  increase  in  the 
attendance  from  the  beginning.  This  has  steadily 
continued  from  year  to  year.  By  degrees  most  of 
the  great  body  of  Kentucky  Baptists  came  to  appre- 
ciate the  location  of  the  seminary  among  them,  and 
personal  pledges  were  given  to  the  amount  of  three 
hundred  thousand  dollars,  of  the  half-million  sup- 
posed to  be  necessary  to  maintain  the  institution. 

Many  of  the  pledges  made  by  the  denomination 
in  Kentucky  and  elsewhere  failing  to  be  collected, 
and  the  expenses  having  been  materially  increased 
by  reason  of  removal  to  a  large  city,  a  deficiency  of 
funds  ensued.  Really  it  seemed,  for  several  years 
after  reaching  Louisville,  that  the  seminary  might 


258  HISTOEY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

after  all  collapse.  Just  at  this  juncture,  Gov.  Joseph 
E.  Brown,  of  Georgia,  contributed  to  it  fifty  thousand 
dollars.  This  was  the  occasion  of  much  enthusiasm 
among  the  friends  of  the  institution.  Mr.  George 
W.  Norton,  one  of  the  leading  business  men  of 
Louisville,  was  the  next  to  act,  and  in  such  a  way  as 
to  secure  gifts,  which  when  added  to  those  already 
in  hand  would  yield  the  increase  necessary  to  sustain 
the  school.  Mr.  Norton  and  his  brother,  W.  F. 
Norton,  had  already  been  generous  contributors  to 
the  seminary,  but  his  plan  now  was  to  give  in  such 
a  way  as  to  secure  two  hundred  thousand  dollars  of 
invested  funds.  In  order  to  command  the  confi- 
dence of  the  business  public,  and  at  the  same  time 
to  secure  any  gifts  to  the  seminary  against  any  con- 
tingency, Mr.  Norton  proposed  that  such  changes 
be  made  in  the  charter  as  to  require  that  the  princi- 
pal of  all  contributions  for  endowment  made  subse- 
quently to  February  1,  1880,  be  held  forever  sacred 
and  inviolate,  only  the  income  to  be  expended,  and 
if  any  portion  of  the  principal  be  used  for  expenses, 
then  the  whole  should  revert  to  the  original  donors. 
In  order  to  give  the  greatest  possible  practical  force 
to  this  measure,  it  was  further  proposed  that  a  finan- 
cial Board  of  the  seminary,  composed  of  five  busi- 
ness men  in  Louisville,  should  be  elected  every  year 
to  invest  the  principal,  hold  the  securities,  and  pay 
over  the  income  to  the  treasurer  of  the  seminary. 
The  purpose  was  to  protect  the  principal  against  all 
invasions,   however  urgent   the   need  or  grave  the 


SOUTHERN  BAPTIST  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY    '259 

crisis.  The  legislature  of  Kentucky  granted  the 
amendment  to  the  charter.  Having  accomplished 
thus  much,  the  Norton  brothers  now  proposed  to 
give  each  a  generous  sum  toward  securing  the  two 
hundred  thousand  dollars. 

From  this  time  the  seminary  took  on  new  life. 
Without  delay  a  vigorous  canvass  was  begun.  Dr. 
Broadus  went  North  and  procured  about  forty  thou- 
sand dollars  ;  and  within  two  years  the  two  hundred 
thousand  dollars  was  collected  and  invested  and  the 
seminary  was  saved.  Up  to  this  time  the  school 
had  been  quartered  in  rented  buildings  in  Louisville, 
for  the  same  policy  was  here  adopted  that  had  saved 
the  seminary  from  wreck  at  Greenville,  which  was 
that  building  should  not  be  undertaken  until  a  per- 
manent endowment  was  secured.  For  a  period  the 
students  were  quartered  in  a  hotel  of  moderate 
dimensions,  and  lectures  were  delivered  on  the  third 
and  fourth  floors  of  the  Library  Hall,  which  space 
had  been  rented  for  these  purposes.  The  hotel  and 
the  two  floors  of  the  Library  Hall  were  rented  for 
the  seminary  for  a  term  of  years. 

A  substantial  endowment  being  secured,  Dr. 
Boyce,  in  1884,  began  to  devise  plans  for  building. 
The  Board  of  Trustees  had  appointed  a  committee 
of  fifteen,  including  the  faculty  and  a  number  of 
business  men  in  Louisville,  to  select  a  location.  A 
division  of  opinion  existed  respecting  the  location  of 
the  seminary — some  contending  for  a  suburban  loca- 
tion where  the  property  would  gradually  enhance  in 


260  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

value ;  others,  for  a  central  location  which  would 
give  the  seminary  an  independent  and  respectable 
position  from  the  beginning,  and  bring  it  frequently 
under  the  observation  of  its  friends  and  supporters. 
Besides,  it  would  give  to  the  students  the  advantage 
of  all  that  was  best  in  the  social  life  of  the  city,  and 
place  them  within  easy  reach  of  the  churches,  Sun- 
day-schools, and  lecture  halls  of  Louisville.  A 
central  location  would  enable  the  students  to  reach 
more  readily  the  surrounding  regions,  where  they 
might  desire  to  preach  on  Sunday,  as  it  would 
equally  serve  to  enable  them  to  resume  more 
promptly  their  work  on  Monday.  The  question 
was  the  occasion  of  no  little  concern  until  President 
Boyce  found  property  in  the  city  which  could  be 
purchased  at  reasonable  rates.  This  he  quietly 
gained  the  consent  of  the  committee  to  purchase. 
A  judicious  investment  was  made;  the  difficulty  was 
at  once  solved;  the  seminary  was  located.  So  em- 
phatically did  the  location  commend  itself  to  the 
business  public  that  a  number  of  gentlemen  volun- 
tarily contributed  to  the  payment  for  the  property. 

The  choice  of  location  for  the  seminary  was  only 
the  beginning  of  a  new  struggle  on  the  part  of  Pres- 
ident Boyce,  wdio  had  now  to  raise  fifty  thousand 
dollars  to  pay  for  the  purchased  lots.  Where  should 
he  look  for  the  amount?  Louisville,  it  would  seem, 
had  been  drained  of  its  generosity  toward  the  sem- 
inary; the  churches  had  grown  weary  of  appeals, 
and  the  current  expenses  had  still  to  be  met.     Mat- 


SOUTHERN  BAPTIST  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY    261 

ters  were  again  brought  to  a  standstill.  The  heart 
even  of  the  great  Boyce  was  sorely  tried  under  such 
pressure.  He  needed  twenty  thousand  dollars  with 
which  to  make  a  payment  for  the  property,  and  no 
means  were  in  sight.  Appealing  to  Mr.  W.  F. 
Norton  to  start  the  subscription  with  twenty-five 
hundred  dollars  Dr.  Boyce  wrote  : 

Getting  this  sum  is  really  going  to  be  fearful  work  ; 
yet  it  is  necessary  to  get  it,  if  possible.  If  I  can  do  this 
then  the  hope  of  buildings  in  the  future  may  be  reason- 
ably entertained.  Without  it,  I  do  not  believe  I  shall 
ever  see  the  day  when  these  buildings  can  be  completed. 
I  do  wish  before  I  die  to  see  the  seminary  fully  equipped 
and  at  work.  For  this  I  have  spent  my  whole  life  thus 
far,  and  am  willing  to  spend  the  remainder,  if  I  can  at- 
tain the  end.  But  my  heart  often  sinks  within  me  at 
the  difficulties  to  be  overcome.  My  ftiith  in  the  enter- 
prise fails.  I  begin  to  think  I  must  leave  it  incomplete 
for  some  other  man  to  finish.  Oh,  that  I  could  get  my 
brethren  to  see  its  possibilities  for  good,  with  an  ample 
endowment !  I  know  it  could  do  ten  times  its  present 
work. 

He  was  overwhelmed  with  the  burden  at  this  junc- 
ture because  the  time  had  arrived  for  making  titles 
to  the  lots,  and  the  payments  due  were  indispensable. 
From  here  and  there  the  money  came,  sometimes 
from  unconjectured  sources.  A  visit  from  Dr.  Ed- 
ward Judson  to  Louisville  about  this  time  resulted 
in  arousing  his  interest  in  behalf  of  the  seminary. 
Returning  to  New  York,  he  became  the  indirect 
means  of  awakening  the  interest  of  Mr.  John  D. 


262  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

Rockefeller,  which  found  substantial  expression 
somewhat  later.  Mr.  J.  A.  Bostwick's  sympathy 
was  also  quickened  in  consequence  of  a  visit  to 
Louisville.  This  was  followed  by  a  visit  of  Dr. 
Broadus  to  New  York,  where  generous  gifts — largely 
conditioned  upon  local  liberality  in  Louisville^ — were 
obtained.  Notwithstanding  his  broken  health,  Dr. 
Boyce  made  gigantic  efforts  to  meet  the  conditions 
named.  Unchecked  in  his  zeal  even  by  harsh 
weather,  which  he  had  to  encounter  with  shattered 
health,  he  toiled  as  never  before.  Slight  dribbles 
gathered  here  and  there  gave  but  little  hope  of  sub- 
sequent relief.  Finally  the  amount  was  raised  and 
sixty  thousand  dollars  was  realized  in  New  York. 
Senator  Brown,  of  Georgia,  again  came  to  the  res- 
cue, sending  his  check  for  five  thousand  dollars 
more  for  the  contemplated  building,  and  New  York 
Hall  was  an  assured  success. 

In  1885  two  bequests  w^ere  made  to  the  seminary 
which  greatly  increased  its  resources.  Mr.  D.  A. 
Chenault,  of  Madison  County,  Kentucky,  bequeathed 
to  it  fifteen  thousand  dollars,  the  interest  of  Avliich 
was  to  be  used  in  aid  of  needy  students  in  attend- 
ance. W.  F.  Norton,  of  Louisville,  contributed  ten 
thousand  dollars  for  the  same  purpose.  On  Decem- 
ber 28, 1888,  Dr.  Boyce  died  at  Pan,  France,  whither 
he  had  gone  with  the  hope  of  procuring  relief  from 
the  gout,  from  which  he  was  a  great  sufferer.  His 
loss  was  greatly  lamented  throughout  the  States  of 
the  South.     His  had  been  a  career  of  remarkable 


SOUTHERN  BAPTIST  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY    263 

activity,  usefulness,  and  honor.  Endowed  with  the 
highest  qualities  of  intellect ;  with  courage  and  a 
lofty  spirit,  a  mastery  of  details  which  was  phe- 
nomenal, a  quick  apprehension  and  an  unerring 
judgment,  indomitable  firmness  which  never  quailed 
before  the  most  menacing  exigency,  promptness, 
punctuality,  and  perseverance  which  never  failed ; 
an  energy  rarely  equaled,  a  capacity  for  labor  which 
was  herculean,  and  a  poise  of  character  which  made 
him  a  prince  among  his  fellows — James  P.  Boyce 
was  pre-eminent  among  the  Baptist  leaders  of  the 
South. 

Those  elements  in  which  he  may  not  have  been 
the  peer  of  others,  were  compensated  for  manifoldly 
by  the  possession  of  other  great  qualities  of  which 
the  owners  of  special  gifts  alone  never  dreamed. 
His  qualities  of  mind  and  character  were  not  only 
many,  they  were  great.  Jurist,  financier,  philoso- 
pher, theologian — he  was  all  these  to  a  pre-eminent 
degree.  He  was  petty  in  nothing;  he  was  great 
in  all. 

Dr.  John  A.  Broadus  succeeded  Dr.  Boyce  as 
president  of  the  seminary.  Under  his  administra- 
tion the  work  went  successfully  on.  Side  by  side 
he  had  labored  with  Dr.  Boyce  from  the  inception 
of  the  great  denominational  enterprise.  His  last 
years  were  cheered  by  the  decided  progress  which 
marked  the  career  of  the  seminary.  He  had  seen  it 
grow  from  struggling  infancy  to  the  proportions  of 
a  giant;  for  in   1894  there  were  in  attendance  two 


264  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

hundred  and  seventy  students  taught  by  eleven  in- 
structors. 

At  that  time  the  vahie  of  the  grounds  and  build- 
ings was  estimated  at  two  hundred  and  fifty  thou- 
sand dollars,  the  endowment  had  grown  to  four 
hundred  and  seventy-five  thousand  dollars,  and  the 
library  was  valued  at  fifty  thousand  dollars,  there 
being  twenty  thousand  volumes  upon  the  shelves — 
the  total  valuation  being  seven  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  thousand  dollars. 

On  March  16,  1895,  Dr.  Broadus  died.  His  suc- 
cessor to  the  presidential  chair  of  the  seminary.  Dr. 
Whitsitt,  in  the  historical  address  delivered  at 
Washington,  D.  C,  in  May,  1895,  on  the  occasion 
of  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  Southern  Baptist 
Convention,  said  of  Dr.  Broadus  : 

This  year  of  our  jubilee,  with  all  its  light  and  gladness, 
has  been  sadly  darkened  by  his  departure.  On  the  sev- 
enteenth of  March  devout  men  carried  him  to  his  burial, 
and  made  great  lamentation  over  him.  The  foremost 
leader  of  our  history,  great  in  the  might  of  his  greatness, 
has  passed  away  from  us,  but  his  fame  and  usefulness 
shall  go  and  grow  throughout  the  years  and  ages.  When 
you,  who  sit  here,  shall  be  aged  and  feeble  men  and 
women,  little  children  will  gather  about  your  knees  with 
reverence  and  delight  to  look  upon  one  who  has  seen 
and  heard  and  spoken  with  John  A.  Broadus. 

In  May,  1875,  Prof.  W.  H.  Whitsitt,  d.  d.,  ll.  d., 
was  elected  by  the  Board  of  Trustees  the  president 
of  the  Southern  Baptist  Theological  Seminary.     The 


SOUTHERN  BAPTIST  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY    265 

success  of  the  first  session  of  his  administration  was 
phenomenal,  the  attendance  being  three  hundred 
and  eighteen,  representing  twenty-eight  States,  the 
District  of  Columbia,  and  the  Indian  Territory,  to- 
gether with  one  student  each  from  China,  England, 
Nova  Scotia,  and  Persia,  and  four  from  Canada. 


CHAPTER  XI 

SUNDAY-SCHOOL    WORK 

INFORMATION  respecting  the  earliest  Baptist 
Sunday-schools  in  the  South  is  scant.  That 
they  existed  in  the  earliest  years  of  the  present  cen- 
tury is  easily  ascertained,  but  to  locate  them  in 
every  instance  is  not  so  easy.  That  so  valuable  an 
auxiliary  should  have  been  suggested  to  a  people  so 
alert  respecting  local  evangelization  as  the  Baptists 
of  the  South  have  ever  been,  is  altogether  natural. 

In  the  opening  years  of  the  century  great  rivalry 
existed  between  the  Baptists  and  Methodists  of  the 
South.  Their  local  missionaries  and  pastors  vied 
with  each  other  in  seeking  to  be  the  first  upon  the 
ground  in  every  new  settlement,  and  they  were 
watchful  of  each  other  respecting  any  means  which 
might  be  employed  for  denominational  advance- 
ment. Any  legitimate  means  which  were  laid  under 
tribute  by  one,  were  equally  employed  by  the  other 
if  the  cause  was  thereby  promoted.  It  is  a  matter 
of  record  that  a  Sunday-school  was  organized  in 
1786,  at  the  suggestion  of  Bishop  Asbury  in  Han- 
over County,  Virginia.  This  is  the  first  school  of 
that  character  of  which  we  have  an  account  in  the 
South.  Again,  in  1790  a  resolution  favoring  Sun- 
266 


SUNDAY-SCHOOL    WORK  267 

day-schools  was  adopted  by  the  Methodist  Confer- 
ence, in  Charleston,  South  Carolina.  Baptists  have 
not  been  so  careful  to  preserve  their  records  as  have 
other  people,  only  as  these  records  are  embodied  in 
the  local  proceedings  of  churches,  and  are  therefore 
inaccessible  to  the  general  chronicler ;  hence  we  are 
left  for  data  to  the  occasional  glimpses  that  are 
afforded  through  indirect  means  rather  than  through 
documentary  evidence.  The  first  third  of  the  present 
century  was  a  period  preparatory  to  the  Sunday- 
school  interest  which  began  to  assume  commanding 
proportions  about  1840.  The  development  of  the 
interest  was  greatly  hindered  during  the  latter  half  of 
the  time  named,  by  the  perpetual  struggle  between 
the  progressive  and  the  unprogressive  elements  of 
the  denomination.  And  yet  it  must  not  be  inferred 
that  the  young  were  left  uninstructed  in  sacred 
things  during  this  long  period.  While  there  were 
but  few  schools  that  approximated  in  efficiency  the 
Sunday-school  of  to-day,  there  were  organizations  in 
which  sacred  instruction  was  given.  In  the  cen- 
ters of  population,  like  Savannah  and  Charleston, 
where  presided  such  denominational  representatives 
as  Holcombe  and  Furman,  the  young  were  regularly 
trained  in  catechetical  instruction.  During  his 
Charleston  pastorate.  Dr.  Richard  Furman  would, 
every  quarter,  assemble  the  young  people  of  his 
charge  for  the  purpose  of  having  them  recite  from 
Reach's  Baptist  Catechism.  Standing  over  the 
closed  baptistery  (which  was  then  called  the  font) 


268  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

the  honored  pastor,  in  clerical  robes  and  bands, 
having  the  boys  ranged  face  to  face  with  the  girls, 
would  alternately  ply  them  with  questions.^ 

This  exercise  was  statedly  and  solemnly  conducted 
in  the  presence  of  the  assembled  audience,  and  the 
recitation  served  to  excite  much  interest,  especially 
on  the  part  of  those  most  concerned  in  the  reciters. 
The  prominence  thus  given  to  the  teaching  of  the 
youth  of  the  church  preserved  a  wide-awake  interest 
in  sacred  instruction  among  the  Baptist  homes  of 
Charleston.  The  lessons  thus  taught  were  never 
forgotten.  It  was  a  period  of  thorough  indoctrina- 
tion. Under  such  conditions  men  and  women  grew 
up  robust  Baptists.  Though  superior  in  many  re- 
spects, the  Sunday-school  literature  of  to-day  is 
not  equal  to  that  of  the  earlier  periods  with  respect 
to  denominational  culture.  At  that  time  but  little 
disposition  was  shown  to  simplify  either  the  terms 
or  thought  of  the  catechism  in  accommodation  to  the 
capabilities  of  the  youth.  The  cardinal  doctrines 
were  presented  alike  to  the  mind  of  the  child  and 
that  of  the  matured  theologian.  It  was  not  so  much 
a  matter  of  comprehension — that  could  be  left  to 
maturer  years — it  was  a  cramming  process.  Ques- 
tions relative  to  the  fundamental  doctrines  would  be 
as  glibly  answered  by  boys  and  girls  in  the  old  First 
Church  of  Charleston,  as  by  the  thoughtful  preacher 
in  his  study. 

1  Dr.  0.  F.  Gregory,  "History  of  First  Baptist  Church,  Charles- 
ton, S.  C,"  subject,  Sunday-schools. 


SUNDAY-SCHOOL   WORK  269 

While  these  examinations  in  Keach  were  taking 
place  quarterly,  the  Presbyterians,  Methodists,  and 
Baptists  would  unite  in  a  weekly  union  Sunday- 
school.  By  degrees,  however,  each  denomination 
withdrew  and  established  its  own  school. 

The  first  regularly  organized  Baptist  Sunday- 
school  in  the  South  was  in  the  Second  Church  of 
Baltimore.  This  organization  took  place  in  1804, 
at  the  suggestion  of  Elder  Healy,  the  pastor,  who 
had  emigrated  from  England  in  1795,  and  was 
doubtless  largely  influenced  by  the  Sunday-school 
activity  then  prevailing  in  Great  Britain. 

The  next  Baptist  Sunday-school  of  which  we 
have  any  record  was  that  of  the  First  Church  of 
Charleston.  It  seems  that  prior  to  1816,  several 
denominations  were  united  in  Sunday-school  in- 
struction, as  has  already  been  shown.  It  was  in 
1816  that  a  distinctively  Baptist  Sunday-school  was 
organized  at  Charleston.  In  1819  still  another  was 
organized  by  Dr.  Adiel  Sherwood  at  Trail  Creek 
Church,  near  Athens,  Georgia.  Dr.  Sherwood  had 
just  removed  from  New  England,  where  he  no  doubt 
had  enjoyed  the  advantages  which  he  was  now  seek- 
ing to  impart  to  others. 

After  1820  Sunday-schools  became  more  numer- 
ous in  different  portions  of  the  South,  especially  in 
the  upper  tier  of  the  Southern  States.  Oftentimes 
they  would  continue  until  the  winter  months,  when 
they  would  suspend  until  the  reopening  of  spring. 
Again,  they  would  be  operated   successfully  for  a 


270  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

period  of  months  and  then  gradually  become  extinct. 
In  the  populous  centers  schools  generally  began  as 
union  organizations.  The  literature  was  such  as 
could  be  gotten  from  any  source,  and  usually  em- 
braced a  few  old  catechisms. 

The  expansion  of  the  denominations,  however, 
compelled  separate  organizations  to  be  made  for  the 
different  Sunday-schools.  Beginning  first  in  the 
cities,  schools  gradually  came  to  prevail  in  the  town 
and  village  churches,  and  finally  in  the  country.  A 
Sunday-school  in  a  rural  church  was  rarely  heard  of 
before  1825.  This  marks  the  date  of  the  beginning 
of  the  opposition  to  Sunday-schools  on  the  part  of 
the  anti-missionary  Baptists  of  the  South,  which 
opposition  waxed  in  bitterness  until  1838. 

In  some  instances,  ministers  were  silenced  for  ad- 
vocating such  institutions,  and  in  others,  members 
were  excluded  from  the  churches  for  suffering  their 
J^  '        children  to  attend  them.     The  temper  of  the  oppo- 

^9*   ^'^i.  .-.  nents  of  Sunday-schools  at  that  time  may  be  judged 
i/    jL'*'^      from    an    extract    from    the    Minutes    of   an    anti- 

'*'**.  missionary  church  in  Alabama,  the  record  bearing 

A  I  date,  1825  : 

Breastwork  Church  petitioned  in  her  letter  that  this 
Association  (the  Ahxbama)  take  into  consideration  the 
propriety  or  impropriety,  and  make  consideration 
thereon,  of  a  declaration  made  by  that  church  declining 
an  uncommunion  fellowship  with  the  Baptist  State  Con- 
ventions, theological  schools,  Sunday-schools,  Bible  so- 
cieties, tract  societies,  and  all  churches  that  hold  mem- 
bers of  such  societies  in  fellowship  with  them. 


SUNDAY-SCHOOL    WORK  271 

The  organization  of  the  American  Sunday-school 
Union  in  1824  gave  an  impulse  to  the  Sunday- 
schools  in  the  older  States  of  the  South.  Agents 
were  appointed  to  canvass  the  most  populous  sec- 
tions, not  only  to  organize  schools,  but  to  solicit 
funds  for  the  furtherance  of  the  objects  fostered  by 
the  Union,  as  well  as  to  nourish  the  schools  organ- 
ized under  its  auspices.  In  the  rural  districts  of 
the  South,  these  agents  were  not,  at  first,  cordially 
received.  Sunday-schools  were  regarded  as  an  in- 
novation, and  they  were  adopted  slowly  and  cau- 
tiously. The  managers  of  the  Sunday-school  Union 
displayed  great  wisdom  by  appointing  some  of  the 
denominational  leaders  in  each  of  the  older  States 
of  the  South  to  represent  its  interests.  For  a  long 
period  it  was  difficult  to  maintain  Sunday-schools 
with  any  degree  of  permanency  outside  of  the 
churches  of  the  cities. 

As  early  as  1830  the  North  Carolina  Baptists 
were  advocating  Sunday-schools  through  reports 
submitted  to  the  general  bodies.  The  Mississippi 
Baptist  State  Convention,  as  early  as  1838,  made 
this  ringing  deliverance  : 

Though  the  institution  of  Sabbath-schools  is,  as  it 
were,  in  its  infancy,  its  advantages  have  been  tested  by 
numberless  experiments.  It  numbers  now  among  its 
friends,  the  statesman,  the  philanthropist,  and  the  pious 
of  every  name. 

And  that  the  great  Head  of  the  church  regards  it 
with  special  favor  is  evident  from  the  abundant  success 


272  HISTORY  OP  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

with  which  he  has  crowned  it.  Your  committee  would 
recommend  it  to  the  warmest  sympathies  and  most 
hearty  co-operation  of  this  body  as  promising  great  good 
to  the  rising  generation  and  the  general  advancement  of 
the  cause  of  Christ.  We  are  aware  of  the  discourage- 
ments under  which  its  friends  must  labor  in  this  State. 
Few  comparatively  are  experienced  in  its  operations  ;  it 
is  difficult  to  obtain  books,  and,  in  many  parts,  the 
population  is  so  sparse  as  seemingly  to  forbid  its  success- 
ful introduction.  But  in  every  good  cause  obstacles 
yield  to  resolute  perseverance.  If  we  look  about  our 
State,  we  shall  doubtless  find  that  not  one-sixth  of  the 
children  attend  preaching  regularly  on  the  Sabbath  ;  so 
that  it  is  to  them  the  most  idle  day  of  the  seven.  It 
need  not  be  said  here  that  idleness  is  the  parent  of  vice. 
But  could  the  children  be  brought  into  a  Sabbath-school, 
they  would  be  restrained  from  profaning  the  Sabbath 
and  be  employed  in  a  most  valuable  process  of  mental 
and  moral  culture. 

As  an  aid  to  the  friends  of  Sabbath-schools,  we  would 
suggest  to  the  Convention  the  expediency  of  establish- 
ing a  Sabbath-school  repository  within  the  bounds  of 
this  State,  believing  that  it  would  give  birth  to  num- 
bers of  Sabbath-schools  within  the  present  year,  be  the 
means  of  securing  the  greater  vmiformity  in  books,  and 
such  books  too  as  are  generally  approved  by  our  de- 
nomination. 

This  admirable  report,  which  was  really  a  fore- 
cast of  the  system  as  it  was  afterward  developed, 
closed  with  resolutions  of  high  approval  of  the 
system  of  Sunday-school  instruction,  and  urged  its 
immediate  attention  upon  the  Baptist  pastors 
throughout  the  State. 

This  report  was  submitted  on  the  occasion  of  the 


SUNDAY-SCHOOL    VVOEK  273 

second  annual  meeting  of  the  Mississippi  Baptist 
State  Convention.  A  few  years  later  we  have  the 
first  expression  concerning  the  Sunday-school,  from 
the  Alabama  Baptist  State  Convention.  In  1844  a 
report  was  submitted  for  the  first  time,  which 
report  clearly  indicates  that  schools  have  been  for 
some  time  existing  in  the  State,  but  the  writer  is 
led  to  regret  "  the  absence  of  such  statistical  infor- 
mation as  would  contribute  to  the  usefulness  and 
interest  of  the  report."  In  a  closing  resolution,  the 
report  provides  that  the  "Convention,  impressed 
with  the  value  of  the  system  of  Sunday-schools,  ear- 
nestly recommended  that  it  claim  the  immediate  at- 
tention of  pastors,  and  that  they  be  urged  to  consti- 
tute a  scliool  in  each  church  as  early  as  practicable." 
When,  in  1831,  Dr.  William  Vaughn  was  ap- 
pointed the  agent  of  the  American  Sunday-school 
Union  in  Kentucky,  the  cause  began  to  excite  pub- 
lic interest,  though  the  schools  were  slow  in  form- 
ing. The  agitations  of  that  period,  arising  from  the 
distractions  occasioned  by  Alexander  Campbell  on 
the  one  hand  and  by  the  anti-missionary  Baptists 
on  the  other,  had  made  the  Baptists  of  Kentucky  re- 
luctant to  embrace  any  new  measure.  They  looked 
askant  upon  the  introduction  of  any  innovation  or 
departure,  however  great  its  promise  of  good  results. 
This  extreme  caution  delayed  denominational  en- 
dorsement of  the  Sunday-school  for  twenty  years. 
It  was  not  until  1854  that  we  find  the  General  As- 
sociation of  Kentucky  bestowing  the  slightest  atten- 

s 


274  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

tion  upon  the  institution.  Even  then  the  expression 
was  a  feeble  and  dubious  one.  A  report  upon  the 
subject  says:  "From  the  best  information  we  can 
obtain,  we  are  of  the  opinion  that  Sunday-schools 
are  not  appreciated  among  our  churches ;  that  a 
very  small  proportion  of  the  churches — probably 
not  one-fourth — have  Sunday-schools,  and  many  of 
them  in  a  very  sickly  condition,  scarcely  maintain- 
ing an  existence."  No  positive  action  was  taken, 
no  aggressive  interest  manifested.  In  1856,  how- 
ever, we  find  the  General  Association  of  Kentucky 
adopting  the  following : 

Resolved,  That  we  recommend  to  our  churches  the  im- 
portance of  organizing  Sunday-schools  whenever  it  is 
practicable. 

Resolved,  That  pastors  of  churches  use  their  influence 
by  presenting  to  their  respective  congregations  the  sub- 
ject of  Sabbath-schools  and  aid  in  organizing  a  healthy 
and  efficient  system. 

This  interest  being  at  last  aroused,  an  investiga- 
tion of  the  literature  which  was  being  distributed 
by  the  agents  of  the  American  Sunday-school  Union 
was  had.  The  undenominational  character  of  the 
literature  at  once  aroused  the  opposition  of  the  Ken- 
tucky Baptists,  who  were  naturally  sensitive  at  this 
particular  juncture  to  the  slightest  evasion  of  a 
positive  presentation  of  the  principles  of  the  Bible 
as  they  were  held  by  Baptists.  This  investigation 
led  to  a  vehement  denunciation  of  the  diluted  char- 
acter of  the  literature  of  the  Sunday-school  Union. 


SUNDAY-SCHOOL    WORK  275 

Now  that  interest  was  aroused,  it  was  determined 
to  constitute  a  new  organization  to  be  known  as  the 
Southern  Sunday-school  Union,  which  was  established 
at  Memphis,  Temiessee,  in  November,  1858.  While 
the  depository  was  located  at  Memphis,  the  govern- 
ing Board  was  appointed  at  Nashville.  The  resolu- 
tions which  follow  emanated  from  the  General  Asso- 
ciation of  Kentucky,  and  clearly  show  the  sentiments 
which  controlled  the  Baptists  of  the  State  at  that 
time. 

Resolved,  That  while  we  recognize  the  excellencies  of 
the  Sunday-school  Union  libraries,  in  the  main  we  feel 
the  defect  of  an  entire  silence  on  many  points  of  divine 
truth,  essential  to  the  duty  of  Christians  and  to  the 
union  of  God's  people. 

Resolved,  That  we  approve  the  principle  of  supplying 
all  our  libraries  with  a  literature  entirely  scriptural  and 
expressive  on  all  points  of  duty,  both  of  doctrine  and 
polity. 

Resolved,  That  we  recommend  the  patronage  of  the 
Southern  Baptist  Sunday-school  Union. 

This  new  turn  in  the  tide  of  aflPairs  served  to 
quicken  for  a  while  denominational  interest  in  the 
subject.  L.  B.  Fish,  becoming  the  general  agent  of 
the  Memphis  organization  in  1860,  succeeded  in 
arousing  more  enthusiasm  in  the  work  than  had  pre- 
viously existed.  This  brings  fully  before  us  the 
varying  phases  of  the  work  within  the  territory 
under  consideration,  until  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil 
War.     Up  to  this  time  no  uniformity  characterized 


276  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

the  work  in  the  different  portions  of  the  South 
where  it  existed.  Wlierever  a  school  was  estab- 
lished it  adopted  its  own  methods  and  its  own  course 
of  study.  Independent  of  uniformity  of  system  or 
co-operative  action,  Sunday-schools  gradually  multi- 
plied each  year  until  the  establishment  of  a  system 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Southern  Sunday-school 
Board,  There  were  occasional  general  expressions 
of  public  interest  in  the  work,  such  as  was  had  at 
Richmond,  Virginia,  in  1853,  when  a  Sunday-school 
convention  of  the  Southern  States  met  in  that  city. 
The  most  that  was  accomplished  by  this  meeting 
was  that  it  gave  increased  vigor  to  the  institution. 
The  subject  did  not  claim  the  attention  of  the 
Southern  Baptist  Convention,  however,  until  1859. 
Repeated,  but  incidental,  allusions  had  been  made  to 
Sunday-schools  in  the  proceedings  of  the  Convention 
from  its  inception ;  but  they  had  not  become  suffi- 
ciently prominent  to  claim  official  attention  until  the 
session  of  the  year  just  named.  This  is  perhaps 
due  to  two  chief  causes — the  Convention  up  to  this 
period  was  engrossed  in  the  formation  of  its  plans 
for  missionary  work  at  home  and  in  foreign  fields, 
and  the  cause  of  Sunday-schools  had  not  assumed 
sufficient  prominence  throughout  the  States  consti- 
tuting the  Convention  to  challenge  attention.  In 
his  annual  report  for  1859,  as  secretary  of  the 
Home  Mission  Board,  R.  Holman  shows  that  that 
Board  had  already  begun  the  work  of  the  organ- 
ization of  Sunday-schools.     He  reported  one  hun- 


SUNDAY-SCHOOL    WORK  277 

dred  and  fourteen  schools  as  organized  up  to  that 
date,  with  six  hundred  and  one  teachers  and  five 
thousand  five  hundred  and  seventy  pupils.  The 
same  report  alludes  to  the  work  previously  done  in 
the  South  and  claims  that  as  a  result  of  such  work 
seven  hundred  and  forty-three  pupils  had  been  con- 
verted and  brought  into  the  churches.  From  this 
time  forth  the  Sunday-school  interest  claimed  more 
the  attention  of  the  Southern  Baptist  Convention. 

From  the  earliest  years  of  the  Convention  Basil 
Manly,  Jr.,  had  been  greatly  interested  in  the  Sun- 
day-school cause.  He  had  made  several  ineifectual 
efforts  to  bring  the  matter  to  the  attention  of  the 
general  body.  At  last,  in  1863,  he  procured  the 
appointment  of  a  committee  of  seven,  composed  of 
Basil  Manly,  Jr.,  Sylvanus  Landrum,  I.  T.  Tich- 
enor,  T.  E.  Skinner,  J.  L.  Burrows,  C.  J.  Elford, 
E.  T.  Winkler,  and  W.  T.  Brantley,  to  report  upon 
the  expediency  of  a  more  vigorous  effort  in  behalf 
of  Sunday-schools.  The  result  was  an  able  and 
elaborate  report  which  emphasized  the  importance 
of  the  Sunday-school  as  an  auxiliary  of  church  life. 
The  report  raised  three  questions  :  (1)  Whether  it  is 
expedient  for  the  Convention  to  attempt  anything 
in  the  direction  of  promoting  interest  in  Sunday- 
schools  ;  (2)  whether  the  present  is  the  proper  time  ; 
and  (3)  in  what  way  the  effort  should  be  made. 
The  conclusion  was  finally  reached  that  a  concentra- 
tion and  consolidation  of  the  interest  in  all  the 
States  of  the  South  would  induce  economy,  uniform- 


278  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

ity,  and  an  expansion  of  salutary  results.  The  out- 
come of  this  action  was  the  creation  of  a  Board  in 
the  interest  of  the  work,  which  Board  was  located 
at  Greenville,  South  Carolina,  with  Basil  Manly, 
Jr.j  as  president.  At  the  same  session  of  the  Con- 
vention at  which  the  Sunday-school  Board  was 
formed,  the  Bible  Board  Avas  abolished.  An  ar- 
rangement w^as  subsequently  entered  into  for  merg- 
ing the  Southern  Baptist  Publication  Society,  which 
sustained  no  connection  with  the  Convention,  into 
the  Sunday-school  Board.  Hence  the  new  organi- 
zation came  to  be  called  the  Sunday-school  and  Pub- 
lication Board. 

An  address  was  at  once  issued  to  the  Baptists  of 
the  South  defining  the  object  of  the  new  Board,  ex- 
plaining its  plans,  and  appealing  for  "voluntary 
agents  and  general  help."  Though  beginning  at  a 
most  inauspicious  time,  the  Board  began  its  work 
with  confidence,  and  from  the  outset  aroused  great 
public  respect,  and  soon  laid  under  tribute  many 
valuable  agencies.  Funds  were  raised  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  work  of  the  Board ;  such  pastors  as 
could  do  so  devoted  much  time  to  its  interest ;  and 
the  denominational  press  of  the  South  rendered  it 
most  efficient  aid.  The  Board  was  fortunate  in 
being  able  to  obtain  a  portion  of  the  time  of  Dr. 
John  A.  Broadus  as  its  corresponding  secretary. 
Still  the  Board  was  greatly  embarrassed  because  it 
had  no  printing  facilities,  and  no  means  with  which 
to  obtain  such.    The  Southern  ports  were  now  closed 


SUNDAY-SCHOOL   WOEK  279 

by  a  hostile  fleet,  and  intercourse  with  the  outside 
world  being  cut  off,  it  was  next  to  impossible  to 
promote  the  interests  of  the  Board.  No  literature 
was  to  be  had  except  the  remnants  of  stocks  left  on 
the  shelves  of  the  book  dealers,  together  with  an 
occasional  useful  book  found  here  and  there  in  a  pri- 
vate house.  But  with  the  scanty  material  on  hand, 
and  much  of  that  crude,  the  Board  resolved  upon 
the  publication  of  a  number  of  books. 

Ten  thousand  Sunday-school  primers  were  soon 
exhausted,  and  a  second  edition  was  issued ;  an 
edition  of  fourteen  thousand  "  Little  Sunday-school 
Hymn  Books  "  was  soon  gone,  and  seventy  thousand 
more  Avere  called  for.  The  "  Confederate  Sunday- 
school  Hymn  Book"  was  issued  in  an  edition  of 
three  thousand,  and  afterward  in  an  edition  of  ten 
thousand,  and  they  were  rapidly  taken.  The  best 
talent  in  the  South  was  invoked  in  behalf  of  the 
struggling  enterprise  and  some  timely  productions 
were  issued.  Among  these  were  the  "  Infant  Class 
Question  Book,"  by  L.  H.  Shuck  ;  "  Little  Lessons 
for  Little  People"  and  the  "Child's  Question  Book 
on  the  Four  Gospels,"  by  B.  Manly,  Jr.,  together 
with  "  A  Brief  Catechism  of  Bible  Doctrine,"  by 
James  P.  Boyce. 

Just  after  the  constitution  of  the  Board,  applica- 
tion was  made  to  the  brethren  at  Baltimore  to  ar- 
range for  the  purchase  of  twenty-five  thousand 
Testaments  for  its  work  in  the  South.  In  response 
to  this,  the  American  Bible  Society  at  New  York 


280  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

made  a  donation  of  that  number.  These  were  sent 
under  a  flag  of  truce  "  for  the  use  of  the  Sunday- 
schools  of  the  Southern  Baptist  Convention."  Ko 
such  contribution  had  been  thought  of,  but  so  soon 
as  the  American  Bible  Society  learned  of  the  desti- 
tution in  the  South,  it  promptly  made  liberal  re- 
sponse. The  society  was  informed  that  "  the  Board 
did  not  think  proper  to  accept  them  as  a  donation, 
but  informed  the  donors,  with  an  acknowledgment 
of  their  Christian  courtesy,  that  they  M'ould  receive 
and  distribute  the  Testaments,  and  would  pay  for 
them  as  soon  as  commercial  intercourse  should  be- 
come practicable."  ^  Even  after  the  Board  had  come 
into  the  possession  of  these  books,  it  found  it  diffi- 
cult to  distribute  them.  Mail  facilities  were  in- 
ferior and  shipment,  as  freight,  was  perilous.  But 
most  excellent  results  were  reached  by  the  Board. 
By  means  of  a  competent  Sunday-school  missionary 
in  each  State,  much  interest  was  aroused  throughout 
the  South.  The  secular  press  everywhere  lent  its 
potent  aid,  and  every  means  possible  was  made  to 
do  the  Board  service.  Among  the  active  mission- 
aries of  the  Board  were :  W.  E.  Hatcher,  of  Vir- 
ginia ;  J.  A.  Chambliss,  of  South  Carolina ;  W.  T. 
Brantley,  of  Georgia ;  and  A.  W.  Chambliss,  of 
Alabama. 

The  exigency  of  the  times  contributed  largely  to 
the  success  of  the  cause,  as  parents  found  in  the 

^  "Report  of  the  Sunday-school  and  Publication  Board,"  for 
1865. 


SUNDAY-SCHOOL    WORK  281 

Sunday-school  at  least  a  partial  means  of  education 
for  their  children,  now  that  the  secular  schools  were 
closed. 

During  this  stormy  period  Baptists  were  alone  in 
the  prosecution  of  Sunday-school  work  in  the  South, 
and  the  schools  organized  by  the  agents  of  the  Board 
were  eagerly  patronized  by  the  people  irrespective 
of  name  or  denomination. 

With  the  capitulation  of  the  Southern  armies 
came  a  cessation  of  the  work  of  the  Board.  But  in 
January,  1866,  it  began,  in  a  limited  way,  again 
issuing  the  periodical  known  as  "Kind  Words." 
This  was  a  signal  for  a  great  demand  upon  the 
Board  for  Sunday-school  literature.  Appealing  to 
the  churches,  the  Board  was  able  to  get  but  meagre 
response,  because  of  the  prostrate  condition  of  the 
country.  Unwilling  to  lose  its  hold  upon  the  people, 
it  promptly  bought  up  what  books  it  could  from  the 
Sunday-school  Union,  the  American  Baptist  Publi- 
cation Society,  the  American  Tract  Society,  as  well 
as  from  individual  publishers.  The  brave  efforts  of 
the  Board  under  such  adverse  conditions  won  for 
it  sympathy,  and  efforts  were  made  to  restore  it  to 
its  position  of  influence  and  power  for  good.  When 
the  Southern  Baptist  Convention  met  at  Russellville, 
Kentucky,  in  May,  1866,  while  the  South  was  in 
ruins,  the  following  passage  occurred  in  the  report 
of  the  Sunday-school  and  Publication  Board : 
"Sunday-schools  for  the  colored  people  have,  for 
many  years  past,  been  conducted  in  different  sec- 


282  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

tions  of  the  South,  particularly  in  the  cities  and 
towns.  Their  recent  emancipation  furnishes  in- 
creased motives  for  establishing  such  schools,  and 
there  can  be  no  longer  any  disposition  to  restrict 
them  to  oral  instruction."  ^  In  the  same  connection 
the  reasons  were  shown  that  it  was  timely  to  teach 
the  Negroes  the  way  of  salvation  more  perfectly  be- 
cause of  their  increased  responsibility.  It  was  in- 
sisted too,  that  the  people  of  the  South  were  under 
obligation,  as  far  as  possible,  to  do  this  work  for  the 
emancipated  black  man.  It  was  finally  urged  that 
the  obligation  was  upon  the  Convention  to  organize 
schools  for  the  Negroes. 

The  Sunday-school  Board  now  began  a  wrestle 
for  life.  It  had  suffered  in  the  common  calamities 
of  the  war,  and  nothing  was  now  left  it  to  fall  back 
upon  but  the  affections  of  the  people.  An  appeal 
for  help  was  issued,  but  not  a  dollar  came  in  re- 
sponse. A  self-assumed  indebtedness  of  two  thou- 
sand dollars  hung  over  the  Board  by  reason  of  its 
refusal,  in  1863,  to  accept  the  twenty-five  thousand 
Testaments  which  Dr.  Fuller,  of  Baltimore,  had 
been  instrumental  in  procuring  from  the  American 
Bible  Society.  Dr.  Broadus  having  retired  from  the 
service  of  the  Board,  Rev.  C.  C.  Bitting  was  elected 
to  succeed  him.  With  characteristic  zeal  he  began 
laying  his  plans  for  an  extensive  work.  The  in- 
debtedness of  the  Board  had  first  to  be  wiped  out. 

1  Some  of  the  States  of  the  South  forbade  by  legal  statute  the 
education  of  slaves. 


SUNDAY-SCHOOL    WORK  283 

Investigation  showed  that  the  Sunday-school  Board 
possessed,  at  the  time  of  the  receipt  of  the  Testaments, 
imperfect  knowledge,  and  influenced  by  the  highest 
dictates  of  Christian  honor  had  assumed  the  obliga- 
tion of  making  payment  for  the  books.  But  the 
American  Bible  Society,  on  the  other  hand,  insisted 
that  it  was  a  donation  and  begged  that  it  be  so  con- 
sidered. This  led  to  a  formal  acknowledgment  of 
the  books  as  a  donation,  to  which  another  was  added 
by  the  American  Bible  Society  in  1867. 

Steps  were  now  taken  to  enter  anew  upon  the 
work  of  publication  and  missionary  effort.  In  1868 
the  Board  was  transferred  from  Greenville,  South 
Carolina,  to  Memphis,  Tennessee.  By  the  consoli- 
dation of  the  Board  with  the  Southern  Baptist 
Sunday-school  Union,  Dr.  S.  H.  Ford  became  the 
president  of  the  new  enterprise,  and  Dr.  T.  C 
Teasdale  was  made  secretary.  The  embarrassments 
of  the  Board  by  reason  of  its  crippled  condition 
were  seriously  enhanced  by  the  occupation  of  the 
South  at  this  time  by  the  American  Sunday-school 
Union,  the  American  Bible  Society,  and  the  Amer- 
ican Baptist  Publication  Society.  Pressed  on  every 
hand  for  aid.  Dr.  Teasdale  appealed  to  Dr.  Griffith, 
of  the  American  Baptist  Publication  Society,  for  re- 
lief. Dr.  Griffith  at  once  responded  :  "  If  you  re- 
ceive more  applications  than  your  Board  can  supply, 
encourage  the  applicants  to  appeal  to  us.  We  will 
cheerfully  consider  each  case  and  make  grants  as 
long  as  we  have  anything  to  grant  with." 


284  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

Internal  friction,  complications,  and  inability  to 
cope  with  agencies  possessed  of  fertile  resources,  led 
to  the  extinction  of  the  Sunday-school  Board  in 
1873,  by  its  being  merged  into  the  Domestic  Mis- 
sion Board.  This  led  to  the  organization  of  Sunday- 
school  Boards  in  some  of  the  States  of  the  South. 
Meanwhile  the  Domestic  Board  continued  the  publi- 
cation of  a  cheap  series  of  Sunday-school  papers,  of 
which  "  Kind  Words  "  was  the  chief  periodical,  all 
of  which  were  edited  by  Rev.  Samuel  Boykin. 

With  the  returning  tide  of  prosperity  to  the  South 
came  the  creation  of  new  enterprises  of  evangelistic 
endeavor.  One  of  these  was  the  State  Boards 
throughout  the  States  of  the  South,  which  Boards 
were  based  upon  the  Sunday-school  work  which  had 
originally  been  done.  These  new  agencies,  without 
exception,  were  dependent  upon  the  American  Bap- 
tist Publication  Society  for  the  supplies  necessary 
for  their  work.  Without  the  timely  aid  of  the 
Publication  Society,  Sunday-school  and  colportage 
work  in  the  South  would  have  been  most  seriously 
retarded  if  not  effectually  blocked.  It  was  destined 
for  almost  a  score  of  years  to  sustain  the  struggling 
Sunday-school  interests  of  the  South,  both  of  the 
whites  and  of  the  blacks. 


CHAPTER  XII 

COLLATERAL    AGENCIES 

THE  forces  which  have  contributed  to  the  de- 
nominational growth  of  the  Baptists  of  the 
South  have  been  supplemented  by  yet  other  forces. 
This  last  class,  though  subsidiary  in  character,  have 
been  none  the  less  effective.  They  have  come  into 
operation,  as  occasion  has  demanded,  and  while  the 
creature  of  denominational  growth,  they  in  turn 
have  been  productive  of  yet  other  means  which 
have  contributed  to  the  same  end.  One  of  the 
most  effective  of  these  agencies  in  the  South  is  the 
Baptist  press.  The  Baptists  are  thought  to  be  the 
pioneers  of  the  religious  press  in  the  States  of  the 
South.  The  first  undertaking  of  journalism  as  an 
engine  of  power  in  religious  enterprises  was  by 
Henry  Holcombe,  of  Georgia,  who  established,  in 
1801,  "  The  Analytical  Repository."  This  was  the 
first  venture  of  Baptist  journalism  in  the  United 
States,  the  second  being  "The  Massachusetts  Baptist 
Missionary  Magazine,"  which  appeared  in  1803. 
Though  it  was  a  most  effective  agent  while  it  lasted, 
"  The  Analytical  Repository  "  was  not  long-lived. 
To  the  more  advanced  and  progressive  elements  of 
the  denomination  in  Georgia,  it  was  most  stimu- 

285 


286  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

lative,  but  it  was  too  far  in  advance  of  the  condi- 
tions of  the  times  to  be  eifective  with  the  masses  of 
the  denomination.  It  was  doomed  by  its  prema- 
turity. 

"The  Latter  Day  Luminary"  was  one  of  the 
projects  of  Luther  Rice  for  arousing  an  interest  in 
foreign  missions.  The  "Luminary"  made  its  ap- 
pearance in  Washington,  D.  C,  in  1816,  first  in  the 
form  of  a  quarterly,  but  afterward  as  a  monthly. 
It  ran  a  useful  but  brief  course,  but  failed  for  want 
of  support.  This  was  followed  by  "The  Colum- 
bian Star,"  which  was  ultimately  resolved  into 
"The  Christian  Index,"  and  removed  first  to  Phila- 
delphia then  to  Georgia.  In  its  new  sphere  it  be- 
came a  powerful  factor  in  the  hands  of  Jesse  Mer- 
cer, whose  position  and  ability  made  him  the  cham- 
pion of  progress  in  that  early  period.  At  a  time 
when  plainness  of  speech  and  uncompromising 
principle  were  needed  to  turn  back  the  tides  of 
ignorance  and  prejudice,  Jesse  Mercer,  with  "The 
Christian  Index,"  most  efficiently  rendered  the 
needed  service.  More  than  any  other,  he  aroused 
and  maintained  among  the  Baptists  of  Georgia  inter- 
est in  missions  and  education.  In  1840  he  pre- 
sented the  "Index"  to  the  Georgia  Baptist  State 
Convention,  and  through  the  subsequent  eventful 
periods  it  has  served  as  a  great  engine  of  progress, 
not  in  Georgia  alone,  but  in  the  States  adjacent  as 
well. 

For  nearly  three-quarters  of  a  century  "The  Re- 


COLLATERAL   AGENCIES  287 

ligious  Herald"  has  rendered  inestimable  service 
to  the  denomination  toward  the  East.  Started  in 
1828  by  William  Sands,  a  practical  printer,  it  has 
laid  under  tribute  the  ablest  pens  of  the  denomina- 
tion from  that  period  to  this.  By  its  ability  im- 
pelling the  denomination  toward  the  attainment  of 
the  highest  development,  it  has  been  equally  serv- 
iceable in  restraining  it  by  its  'conservatism.  As 
an  advocate  of  progress,  "  The  Religious  Herald " 
has  inspired  much  zeal  in  the  promotion  of  interest 
especially  in  behalf  of  education  and  missions. 
After  the  close  of  hostilities  its  tone  of  conservatism 
did  much  to  allay  sectional  animosity  and  to  restore 
a  sentiment  of  co-fraternity  between  the  North  and 
South. 

"  The  Biblical  Recorder "  was  brought  into  being 
in  response  to  a  demand  for  such  an  organ  in  the 
progressive  period  of  1834.  Thomas  Meredith,  the 
acknowledged  leader  of  the  North  Carolina  Baptists 
of  that  time,  recognized  the  necessity  of  a  State 
organ  if  he  should  expect  to  succeed  in  the  accom- 
plishment of  the  ends  at  which  he  aimed ;  hence 
"  The  Biblical  Recorder."  It  was  a  connecting  link 
between  "  The  Christian  Index  "  on  the  one  hand 
and  "  The  Religious  Herald "  on  the  other  during 
a  period  of  years  when  they  were  the  only  denomi- 
national exponents  along  the  Atlantic  board  of  the 
South.  These  organs  were  simply  indispensable 
during  the  formative  period  just  succeeding  the 
constitution  of  the  Southern  Baptist  Convention. 


288  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

To  the  strong  and  uncompromising  denomina- 
tional views  of  "  The  Biblical  Recorder "  are  the 
Baptists  of  North  Carolina  largely  due  for  their 
uniform  stability  and  progress. 

Among  the  most  useful  of  the  denominational 
organs  in  the  western  portion  of  the  States  of  the 
South  has  been  "  The  Western  Recorder."  It  had 
its  germ  in  "  The  Baptist  Banner/'  Avhich  was 
begun  in  1825,  and  was  therefore  the  pioneer  of 
Baptists  journals  west  of  the  Alleghanies.  The 
paper  did  not  become  "  The  Western  Recorder " 
until  1851,  being  known  by  different  names  before 
that  time,  as  it  was  shifted  from  point  to  point. 
During  the  troublous  periods  through  which  the  de- 
nomination in  that  quarter  of  the  South  had  been 
compelled  to  pass,  "  The  Western  Recorder "  has 
been  an  invaluable  ally  to  the  maintenance  of  Bap- 
tist principles  and  a  pronounced  promoter  of  de- 
nominational progress. 

Later  appeared  in  the  southwest  "  The  Tennes- 
see Baptist/'  the  chief  representative  of  the  extreme 
views  of  the  Baptists  of  the  South.  It  was  the  or- 
gan of  "Old  Landmarkism/'  and  under  the  edi- 
torial direction  of  Dr.  J.  R.  Graves,  swayed  a  mar- 
velous influence  in  the  Mississippi  Basin  and  in 
States  bordering  upon  those  watered  by  the  great 
river,  both  east  and  west.  Graves  was  a  born 
polemicist,  and  his  challenging  tone,  coupled  with 
his  ready  utterance  and  forcible  diction,  won  easily 
for  him   the  popular  eye  and  ear.     He  came  upon 


COLLATERAL   AGENCIES  289 

the  scene  at  a  time  when  the  conditions  most  favored 
his  polemical  spirit.  The  incoherent  character  of 
the  bulk  of  the  population  reached  by  his  paper, 
its  ringing  notes  of  controversy  so  congenial  to  a 
bustling  and  formative  state  of  society,  its  fervid 
declarations  against  all  forms  of  doctrinal  error,  at 
a  time  when  both  the  South  and  the  West  were  be- 
ing swept  by  a  storm  of  controversy,  the  location 
of  the  "  Tennessee  Baptist "  just  where  many  of 
these  opposing  influences  met — these  served  to  give 
alike  to  the  editor  and  to  his  paper  a  prominence 
which  they  would  not  have  enjoyed  in  calmer 
times.  Indeed,  when  calmness  began  to  prevail, 
the  lustre  of  the  editor  as  well  as  of  his  journal  be- 
gan to  grow  dim.  But  extreme  as  were  the  views 
advocated  by  J.  R.  Graves,  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  he  rendered  some  service  in  giving  a  proper 
setting  to  Baptist  doctrine  in  a  region  where,  if  the 
sentiments  had  been  less  pronounced,  they  would  not 
have  been  so  effective. 

"  The  Southern  Baptist,"  which  was  published  so 
long  at  Tuskegee,  Alabama,  was  a  valuable  ally  to 
its  denominational  contemporaries.  It  had  its  origin 
at  Wetumpka,  Alabama,  in  1838,  where  it  was 
founded  by  Rev.  John  D.  Williams.  Removed  to 
JNIarion,  Alabama,  where  it  was  known  as  the 
"  Alabama  Baptist,"  and  then  as  the  "  Alabama 
Baptist  Advocate"  ;  thence  to  Montgomery,  where 
it  became  the  "  Southwestern  Baptist "  ;  and  again 
removed   to    Tuskegee,  Alabama,  the  journal  did 


290  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

much  good  in  counteracting  the  extreme  views  of 
the  "  Tennessee  Baptist,"  while  it  was  an  able  ad- 
vocate of  the  enterprises  of  the  denomination.  The 
value  of  its  contribution  to  Baptist  interests  in  this 
newer  region  of  the  South  and  Southwest  is  beyond 
estimate ;  but  it  was  not  a  whit  less  valuable  in  its 
stalwart  defense  of  Baptist  principles  in  a  region 
where  the  Methodists  were  most  progressive  and 
aggressive.  The  "Southwestern  Baptist"  was 
merged  into  "  The  Christian  Index/'  as  a  result  of 
the  Civil  War.  One  of  the  signs  of  the  growth  of 
denominational  spirit  in  the  lower  basin  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi was  the  establishment  of  the  "  Southwestern 
Baptist  Chronicle/'  by  Rev.  W.  C.  Duncan,  in  1847. 
The  paper  was  ably  conducted  for  three  years,  but 
was  discontinued  in  consequence  of  the  failing  health 
of  Dr.  Duncan. 

Feeling  the  need  of  a  local  organ  in  that  quarter 
of  the  South,  Mr.  L.  A.  Duncan,  brother  to  the 
former  editor,  undertook  the  establishment  of  the 
"New  Orleans  Baptist  Chronicle"  in  1852.  This 
journal  attained  a  considerable  circulation  in  the 
States  of  Mississippi,  Louisiana,  and  Arkansas,  but 
the  paper  was  discontinued  in  1852.  Again  in  1855 
an  effort  was  made  to  give  the  Baptists  of  the  Peli- 
can State  an  organ  of  intercommunication,  hence 
Rev.  Hanson  Lee  began  the  publication,  at  Mount 
Lebanon,  of  the  "  Louisiana  Baptist."  This  enter- 
prise proved  to  be  more  successful  than  the  others, 
for  the  paper  attained  the  rank  of  one  of  the  ablest 


COLLATERAL    AGENCIES  291 

of  the  Southern  Baptist  journals.  The  paper  was 
continued  throughout  the  dark  days  of  the  Civil 
War,  even  after  the  death  of  its  gifted  editor,  in 
1863,  and  was  conducted  subsequently  by  Rev.  A.  F. 
Worrell,  W.  F.  Wells,  Dr.  Courtney,  and  W.  E.  Pax- 
ton,  but  in  1869  it  was  merged  into  the  "Memphis 
Baptist,"  the  powerful  organ  of  Dr.  J.  R.  Graves. 

Mr.  J.  L.  Furman  began  the  publication  of  "  The 
Southern  Messenger,"  a  semi-monthly  periodical  in 
1876,  but  the  enterprise  was  not  a  success  for  want 
of  patronage  and  was  soon  discontinued. 

The  organs  already  named  were  the  chief  journals 
of  the  Baptists  in  the  States  of  the  South  until  the 
revival  of  interest  following  the  cessation  of  hostili- 
ties. The  concentration  of  resources  and  compact- 
ness of  organization  which  became  necessary  after 
the  social  revolution  Avrought  in  the  South,  required 
a  multiplication  of  educational  agencies.  Nothing 
could  serve  so  effectually  to  meet  prevailing  de- 
mands as  Baptist  newspapers.  Hence  with  the 
revival  of  suspended  interests  in  the  South  came  a 
reassertion  of  denominational  spirit,  which  was 
voiced  in  each  State  through  journals  instituted  for 
the  purpose.  One  after  another  of  the  States  began 
the  publication  of  official  organs,  until  there  is  one 
or  more  in  each  of  those  of  the  South. 

Besides  those  already  mentioned  may  be  named 
"  The  Baptist  Courier,"  of  South  Carolina  ;  "  The 
Baptist  and  Reflector,"  of  Tennessee;  "The  Ken- 
tucky Baptist,"  of  Kentucky  ;  "  The  Alabama  Bap- 


292  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

tist,"  of  Alabama ;  "  The  Baptist  Record/'  of  Mis- 
sissippi ;  "  The  Baptist  Chronicle,"  of  Louisiana ; 
and  "  The  Florida  Baptist  Witness/'  of  Florida. 

All  tliese  have  been  valuable  auxiliaries  in  de- 
nominational development  in  the  Southern  States 
during  the  last  twenty-five  years.  In  closest  con- 
nection with  the  State  Boards,  these  agencies  have 
acted  and  reacted  most  helpfully  upon  each  other, 
and  for  the  general  promotion  of  the  cause  of  God. 

Besides  these,  there  have  been  periodicals  of  a 
more  distinct  character  which  have  been  co-opera- 
tive with  the  State  journals.  Chief  among  such  is, 
"  The  Foreign  Mission  Journal,"  issued  by  the  For- 
eign Board  from  Richmond,  Virginia.  Since  its 
inception  it  has  commanded  a  wide  circle  of  readers 
throughout  the  South.  It  occupies  a  sphere  pe- 
culiarly its  own.  By  reason  of  its  vital  touch  with 
the  missionaries  in  foreign  parts,  it  has  been  able  to 
present  to  the  churches  just  that  information  which 
has  aroused  sympathy  and  interest  in  our  foreign 
mission  work. 

For  a  period  of  years  the  Home  Mission  Board 
issued  a  neat  organ  known  as  "  Our  Home  Field," 
which  sustained  the  same  relation  to  that  Board 
that  is  sustained  by  "  The  Foreign  Journal "  to  the 
Board  of  which  it  is  the  organ.  An  attempt  was 
made  in  1895  to  unite  these  interests,  but  it  proved 
impracticable  and  the  Boards  were  left  in  1896  to 
devise  their  own  means  of  communication  with  the 
churches. 


COLLATERAL    AGENCIES  293 

In  the  absence  of  a  review  in  the  South,  the 
"Seminary  Magazine,"  of  Louisville,  Kentucky, 
somewhat  supplies  that  deficiency.  It  is  issued  by 
the  students  of  the  Southern  Baptist  Theological 
Seminary,  and  by  its  elevated  tone  has  done  much 
to  stimulate  progress  in  theological  thought  in  the 
States  of  the  South. 

Besides  the  press,  there  have  been  other  potent 
agencies  which  have  been  closely  allied  to  the  de- 
nominational papers  in  the  promotion  of  Baptist 
interests.  The  most  conspicuous  among  these  is 
the  American  Baptist  Publication  Society.  In  its 
origin,  the  Publication  Society  w^as  Southern.  With 
the  expansion  of  the  denomination  in  the  South 
came,  in  due  time,  the  suggestion  of  the  imperative 
necessity  of  a  general  publishing  agency,  by  means 
of  which  there  might  be  presented,  as  well  as  per- 
petuated, the  principles  of  Baptists.  These  princi- 
ples were  extending ;  thousands  were  every  year 
embracing  them,  but  they  were  presented  almost 
exclusively  by  the  preacher's  lips. 

It  was  not  until  1824  that  the  matter  of  creating 
a  publishing  agency  took  shape.  Four  years  before 
that  time  the  subject  had  been  considered  in  Phila- 
delphia, but  no  definite  action  was  taken.  In  1823, 
Noah  Davis,  of  Maryland,  wrote  a  letter  to  his 
classmate,  J.  D.  Knowles,  of  Washington,  D.  C, 
urging  the  formation  of  a  tract  society,  to  be  oper- 
ated under  the  auspices  of  the  Baptists.  The  idea 
was  suggested  to  Mr.  Davis  by  seeing  a  tract  fall  to 


294  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

the  ground  from  the  hat  of  another.  The  letter 
just  referred  to  suggested  that  a  call  be  issued  for  a 
meeting  to  consider  the  feasibility  of  establishing  a 
publishing  interest,  and  the  call  was  made  through 
"  The  Columbian  Star."  In  response  thereto, 
twenty-four  persons  met  at  the  home  of  Mr.  George 
Wood,  in  Washington,  D.  C,  February  25,  1824. 
Among  those  present  were  William  Staughton  and 
Baron  Stow,  the  latter  being  at  that  time  a  student 
in  Columbian  College. 

A  society  was  formed,  George  Wood  became  its 
agent,  and  it  began  operations  at  once.  The  neces- 
sity of  such  an  agency  was  manifest  from  the  readi- 
ness with  which  it  was  responded  to  throughout  the 
States.  Two  years  after  its  establishment,  it  was 
removed  to  Philadelphia,  where  it  has  since  re- 
mained. 

This  is  not  the  place  to  furnish  a  history  of  the 
American  Baptist  Publication  Society ;  but  it  has 
thriven  commensurately  with  the  growth  of  the 
denomination  and  the  prosperity  of  the  country. 

During  the  chaotic  days  subsequent  to  the  close 
of  the  Civil  War,  when  the  Baptist  denomination 
was  seeking  to  rally  its  agencies,  and  when  a  new 
beginning  was  to  be  made  in  the  reorganization  of 
its  work,  the  Publication  Society  came  to  its  rescue. 
The  work  of  the  Sunday-school  Board  of  the 
Southern  Baptist  Convention  during  the  war  showed 
where  means  would  accomplish  the  greatest  good. 
The  inability  of  the  Southern  Board  to  meet  these 


COLLATERAL    AGENCIES  295 

demands  left  the  South  in  greatest  need  of  supplies 
for  this  important  department  of  Christian  labor. 
Sentiment  in  favor  of  Sunday-schools  had  been 
rapidly  growing  since  1863.  A  most  remarkable 
development  of  interest  had  been  shown  in  this 
sphere  during  the  ten  years  following  the  period  just 
named.  But  just  when  the  interest  was  most 
intense,  the  source  of  supplies  was  cut  oif  by  the 
necessary  extinction  of  the  Sunday-school  Board. 
At  that  juncture,  the  American  Baptist  Publication 
Society  turned  its  attention  to  the  cultivation  of  the 
Sunday-schools  in  the  South.  It  was  a  friend  in 
need.  With  unstinted  hand  it  gratuitously  supplied 
hundreds  of  schools,  both  of  the  whites  and  of  the 
blacks.  Hundreds  of  Sunday-school  libraries  also 
were  furnished  in  the  same  spirit.  For  more  than 
fifteen  years  this  work  was  prosecuted  by  the  So- 
ciety alone  in  the  States  of  the  South.  Coupled 
with  this  was  a  colportage  and  missionary  system 
conducted  under  the  auspices  of  the  Publication  So- 
ciety. 

So  great  w^as  the  demand  for  Sunday-school  and 
colportage  supplies  in  the  South,  that  it  was  deter- 
mined in  1887  to  establish  a  Branch  House  at  At- 
lanta, Georgia.  This  was  earnestly  advocated  by 
such  men  as  Drs.  Henry  McDonald  and  H.  H. 
Tucker.  The  enterprise  was  begun  somewhat  as  a 
business  venture,  but  when  the  receipts  from  sales  for 
the  first  fiscal  year  amounted  to  more  than  thirty- 
two  thousand  dollars  the    experimental  stage  was 


296   HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

passed^  and  Atlanta  became  the  center  of  a  great 
Sunday-school  influence.  A  few  years  later,  in  re- 
sponse to  a  growing  demand  for  the  literature  which 
the  Publication  Society  was  dispensing,  another 
Branch  House  was  located  at  Dallas,  Texas,  which, 
together  with  the  one  at  St.  Louis,  constitutes  the 
three  in  the  States  of  the  South.  A  fair  estimate  of 
the  Society  by  Southern  Baptists  is  expressed  in  an 
extract  taken  from  an  address  delivered  by  Dr.  J.  B. 
Hawthorne  at  the  opening  of  the  new  building  of 
"The  Baptist  Witness,"  at  Ocala,  Florida,  in  1894  : 

The  corrupting  influence  of  the  world's  bad  books  is 
opposed  by  the  purifying  and  the  ennobling  influence  of 
millions  of  volumes  in  which  there  is  not  a  taint  of  im- 
purity. In  this  connection  it  gives  me  great  pleasure  to 
say  that  among  the  institutions  which  are  providing  the 
world  with  a  wholesome  literature,  there  is  not  one  that 
deserves  higher  esteem  and  honor  than  the  American 
Baptist  Publication  Society.  It  is  the  one  Baptist  institu- 
tion of  which  every  Baptist  in  the  wide  world  can  afford 
to  be  proud.  Into  every  nook  and  corner  of  this  great 
country  its  books  and  periodicals  have  gone  to  enlighten 
and  elevate  and  save  the  people.  With  its  magnificent 
facilities,  directed  by  many  of  the  brainiest  and  best  men 
of  the  nation,  and  with  the  moral  and  material  support  of 
nearly  four  millions  of  Baptists,  it  is  destined  to  accom- 
plish wonderful  transformations  in  this  and  in  other 
countries.  Working  harmoniously  with  kindred  insti- 
tutions, it  will  do  much  to  emancipate  this  land  from  the 
dominion  of  an  unclean  and  debasing  literature. 

Another  benevolent  agency  in  the  South  is  the 
American    Baptist    Home    Mission    Society.     Its 


COLLATERAL    AGENCIES  297 

work  is  chiefly  confined  to  the  colored  people,  and 
it  is  among  them  that  work  is  most  needed.  It 
has  created  a  spirit  of  self-respect  among  Southern 
Negroes  by  means  of  the  establishment  of  schools. 
The  Society  has  rendered  the  help  which  could  not 
have  been  otherwise  extended  to  the  colored 
people  of  the  South,  and  in  the  most  critical 
period  of  their  history.  During  the  year  1893 
alone  it  expended  twelve  thousand  five  hundred  and 
sixty-two  dollars  in  mission  work  among  the  colored 
Baptists  of  the  South.  It  maintains  for  that  people 
in  the  Southern  States  twenty-nine  institutions  of 
learning,  of  which  fourteen  are  high  schools  and 
fifteen  secondary.  An  important  feature  of  the 
work  of  which  the  South  has  been  a  fortunate  recipi- 
ent from  the  Society  is  that  of  assisting,  by  gift  and 
loan,  in  the  erection  of  houses  of  M^orship. 

The  American  Baptist  Education  Society  was  or- 
ganized in  1888,  possibly  for  the  purpose  of  ad- 
ministering the  educational  gifts  of  Mr.  John  D. 
Rockefeller  for  the  promotion  of  Baptist  schools. 
Substantial  and  timely  aid  has  been  rendered  to 
struggling  institutions  in  the  South  in  the  payment 
of  debts  incurred  and  by  the  increase  of  their  endow- 
ments. The  Society  serves  as  an  eliciting  agency 
by  conditioning  its  donations,  in  almost  every  case, 
upon  the  raising  of  several  times  the  amount  do- 
nated from  other  and  interested  sources. 

The  Southern  Baptist  Young  People's  Union  has 
just  begun  as  an  organization.     It  promises  to  ac- 


298   HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

complish  much  excellent  work  among  the  Baptist 
churches  of  the  South.  Through  its  Christian  Cul- 
ture Courses  it  is  affording  to  the  young  of  the  de- 
nomination a  more  exalted  and  extensive  view  of 
the  sacred  literature,  denominational  history,  and 
the  history  of  missions. 

The  Southern  Educational  Conference  is  an  or- 
ganization which  holds  its  sessions  annually  in  con- 
nection with  the  meetings  of  the  Southern  Baptist 
Convention.  It  was  organized  at  Birmingham, 
Alabama,  in  1891.  At  its  annual  sessions  papers 
of  an  educational  character  are  read  and  discussed 
by  the  representatives  who  come  as  Baptist  educa- 
tors from  the  schools  of  the  South. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

woman's  work 

rriHE  general  organization  of  Baptist  women  in 
-L  the  South  into  co-operative  societies  for  mis- 
sionary work,  is  of  comparatively  recent  date. 
Long  prior  to  this  movement  the  women  in  different 
portions  of  the  South  were  engaged,  in  numerous 
ways,  in  contributing  to  the  cause  of  missions.  Un- 
pretentious local  societies  would,  from  time  to  time, 
be  formed,  and  now  and  then  a  voluntary  contribu- 
tion would  be  made  by  some  devout  woman.  Even 
as  early  as  1823,  women's  missionary  societies 
existed  in  different  portions  of  the  then  young  State 
of  Alabama.  When  the  Baptist  Convention  of  that 
State  was  organized,  seven  of  the  twenty  delegates 
were  there  as  representatives  of  these  societies. 
These  little  societies  were  entirely  independent  of 
any  general  organization.  Among  the  contributions 
made  that  year  by  the  hands  of  devout  women  was, 
on  the  part  of  one,  9,  watch  and  chain,  and,  on  the 
part  of  another,  two  pairs  of  socks  "knit  with  her 
own  hands."  There  was  a  Woman's  Missionary 
Society  in  Richmond,  Virginia,  as  early  as  1823, 
doubtless  there  were  others  scattered  here  and  there 
through  the  South. 

299 


300   HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

Even  after  new  interest  in  woman's  work  had  been 
kindled  in  the  South,  there  was,  in  many  quarters,  a 
marked  demonstration  against  it.  The  fears  gener- 
ally expressed  were  those  of  undue  organization  in 
the  churches,  which  would  exhaust  itself  in  that 
alone,  and  that  separation  of  the  churches  into  dif- 
ferent elements  would  tend  to  disintegration.  And 
the  further  fear  was  not  disguised  that  there  was 
danger  of  according  too  great  prominence  to  women 
in  the  churches.  Even  after  the  work  of  organiza- 
tion had  begun  in  the  South,  in  some  quarters  they 
were  knocking  in  vain  at  the  doors  of  Associations 
and  State  Conventions  for  permission  and  encourage- 
ment to  join  in  the  general  work  of  the  denomina- 
tion. So  persistent  did  these  appeals  become  in 
some  States,  that  efforts  were  made  at  conciliation 
by  the  adoption  of  certain  complimentary  resolutions 
as  void  of  meaning  as  they  were  intended  to  be. 

Under  the  inspiration  of  the  new  movement 
which  had  been  transmitted  from  the  Woman's  Mis- 
sionary Society  of  Ncvvton  Center,  Massachusetts, 
of  which  Mrs.  Gardner  Colby  was  the  president 
and  Mrs.  Alvah  Hovey  the  corresponding  secretary, 
Mrs.  Ann  J.  Graves  of  Baltimore,  organized,  in 
that  city,  in  1867,  a  woman's  missionary  prayer 
meeting  for  the  support  of  native  Bible  women  be- 
longing to  the  Canton  Baptist  Mission.  Mrs. 
Graves  was  the  mother  of  Dr.  E,.  H.  Graves,  the 
missionary  to  China.  This  meeting,  certainly  un- 
pretentious enough,  was  steadily  maintained  until 


woman's  work  301 

1869,  when  Miss  Brittan,  of  Calcutta,  India,  visited 
America,  and  was  invited  by  Mrs.  Graves  to  be 
present  at  one  of  the  prayer  meetings.  So  profound 
was  the  impression  produced  by  Miss  Brittan  that 
great  interest  was  aroused  in  behalf  of  women  in 
heathen  lands.  This  led  to  the  formation  of  the 
Baltimore  Auxiliary  of  the  Woman's  Union  Mis- 
sionary Society,  which  included  a  number  of  earnest 
women  of  the  various  Christian  churches  of  that 
city.  This  society  was  constituted  in  1870  with 
Mrs.  J.  W.  M.  Williams,  as  president,  and  Mrs. 
Ann  J.  Graves,  as  secretary.  Within  a  few  years, 
the  contributions  of  this  local  society  grew  from  six 
hundred  dollars  to  one  thousand  dollars  annually. 

In  October,  1871,  the  Woman's  Mission  to  Woman 
was  organized,  with  Mrs.  Franklin  Wilson  as  presi- 
dent, Mrs.  F.  Crane  as  treasurer.  Miss  Jane  W. 
Norris  as  recording  secretary,  and  Mrs.  Ann  J. 
Graves  as  corresponding  secretary.  This  work  con- 
tinued to  grow  in  interest,  which  was  not  a  little 
heightened  by  the  marriage  of  Miss  Norris  and  Dr. 
R.  H.  Graves,  the  missionary  to  China. 

At  the  same  date,  October  23,  1871,  Rev.  John 
Stout,  pastor  of  the  Baptist  Church  at  Newberry, 
South  Carolina,  organized  a  Woman's  Missionaiy 
Society.  Mr.  Stout  was  the  first  in  the  South  to 
undertake  and  to  encourage  such  organization. 
Through  successive  years  he  was  engaged  in  the 
organization  of  these  societies  in  his  native  State. 

Miss  Edmonia  Moon,  of  Virginia,  having  been 


302  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

accepted  by  the  Foreign  Mission  Board,  as  a  mis- 
sionary to  China,  in  1872,  the  Baptist  women  of 
Richmond,  Virginia,  at  once  organized  the  Woman's 
Missionary  Society  of  that  city,  for  the  support  of 
Miss  Moon.  The  contributions,  the  first  year, 
amounted  to  one  thousand  two  hundred  dollars. 

In  1872,  in  his  first  annual  report  to  the  Southern 
Baptist  Convention  at  Raleigh,  North  Carolina,  as 
corresponding  secretary  of  the  Foreign  Mission 
Board,  Dr.  Tupper  alluded  to  the  importance  of 
organizing  Bible  women  at  our  missionary  stations 
and  suggested  that  the  women  of  our  churches 
might  be  aroused  to  the  importance  of  "  redeeming 
their  sister  women  from  the  degrading  and  destroy- 
ing thraldom  of  paganism." 

A  report  upon  woman's  work  read  at  the  session 
of  the  Convention  in  1872,  by  Dr.  J.  \y.  M.  Wil- 
liams, appealed  to  the  delegates  present  to  take  im- 
mediate steps  to  organize  women's  missionary  soci- 
eties. Rev.  John  Stout  was  present  at  this  session 
of  the  Convention  and  was  greatly  interested  in  the 
woman's  movement,  as  he  had  shown  by  his  efficient 
work  in  the  organization  of  societies  in  South  Caro- 
lina. The  work  which  was  done  in  this  direction 
for  several  years  afterward  was  confined  almost  ex- 
clusively to  South  Carolina  and  to  a  single  pastor — 
John  Stout,  the  originator  of  the  movement  in  the 
South.  The  matter  claimed  the  attention  of  the 
Southern  Baptist  Convention  again  in  1875,  when 
the  work  of  organizing  woman's  missionary  societies 


woman's  work  303 

was  formally  commended.  In  1876  the  South 
Carolina  Central  Committee  of  Missions  was  consti- 
tuted at  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Stout.  This  was 
the  first  central  committee  organized  in  the  South. 
It  received  that  year  the  sanction  of  the  South 
Carolina  Baptist  State  Convention. 

In  1878  the  matter  was  again  before  the  Southern 
Convention,  which  met  that  year  at  Nashville,  Ten- 
nessee. At  this  time  the  first  positive  step  was 
taken  by  the  Convention  respecting  this  important 
work.  In  a  report  submitted  by  Dr.  J.  W.  M. 
Williams,  of  which  committee  Mr.  Stout  was  a  mem- 
ber and  who  no  doubt  influenced  the  suggestion,  it 
was  urged  that  central  committees  be  organized  in 
each  State  to  co-operate  with  the  two  general 
Boards,  as  auxiliary  to  the  Southern  Baptist  Con- 
vention. The  following  year,  1879,  the  chairman 
of  the  committee  on  woman's  work  was  Dr.  T.  T. 
Eaton.  The  committee  emphasized  the  action  of 
the  one  of  the  preceding  year,  repeating  the  impor- 
tance of  women's  organizations. 

Meanwhile  the  work  was  assuming  greater  pro- 
portions. Under  the  lead  of  Rev.  John  Stout, 
South  Carolina  was  greatly  in  advance  of  the  other 
States  of  the  South,  in  some  of  which  the  Conven- 
tions declined  to  give  encouragement  to  the  move- 
ment. The  segregated  condition  of  the  societies 
which  had  been  formed  throughout  the  South,  sug- 
gested the  propriety  of  a  general  co-operative  or- 
ganization, but  it  was  not  effected  for  several  years. 


304  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

In  1881,  Secretary  Tupper,  in  his  annual  report, 
called  the  attention  of  the  Southern  Baptist  Conven- 
tion to  the  movement  going  on  in  the  South  and 
stated  that  so  far  as  could  be  ascertained,  three  hun- 
dred and  fifty  of  these  societies  had  been  organized, 
and  they  had  contributed  to  foreign  missions  six 
thousand  two  hundred  and  forty-four  dollars  and 
thirty  cents. 

Still  the  Convention  was  tardy  about  doing  more 
than  to  give  verbal  endorsement.  Resistance  to  the 
movement  continued  in  a  number  of  the  Southern 
States,  and  difficulties  were  overcome  only  by  the 
quiet  organization  of  societies  in  almost  all  these 
States.  In  1883  the  question  was  again  before  the 
Southern  Baptist  Convention,  at  Waco,  Texas. 
This  time  it  aroused  more  interest  than  had  pre- 
viously prevailed,  which  interest  found  expression 
very  soon  afterward  in  the  organization  of  central 
committees  throughout  the  States  of  the  South, 
Organization  gave  additional  strength  to  the  grow- 
ing cause.  The  work  grew  apace  until  the  occur- 
rence of  a  little  episode  in  the  Southern  Baptist 
Convention,  in  1885,  at  Augusta,  Georgia.  At  that 
session  a  portion  of  the  Arkansas  delegation  to  the 
Convention  was  composed  of  women.  There  was 
nothing  in  the  constitution  of  the  Convention  to 
prevent  their  recognition  as  delegates.  The  ripple 
of  agitation  produced  by  the  occurrence,  was  lulled 
by  the  reference  of  the  matter  to  a  committee  of  one 
from  each  State,  of  which  Dr.  J.  William  Jones,  of 


woman's  work  305 

Virginia,  was  the  chairman.     After  clue  deliberation 
the  committee  reported  the  following  : 

Your  committee  to  whom  was  referred  the  whole  ques- 
tion of  the  eUgibility  of  women  to  seats  as  delegates  in 
this  body,  have  considered  the  matter  and  have  unani- 
mously agreed  to  the  following  :  As  some  doubt  has 
arisen  as  to  the  proper  construction  of  the  Constitution, 
we  recommend  the  following  amendment :  In  Article 
III.,  of  the  constitution,  strike  out  the  word  "members  " 
in  the  first  line,  and  insert  instead  thereof  the  word 
' '  brethren. ' ' 

The  report  was  adopted,  and  the  matter  was  set 
at  rest.  Many  Baptist  women  from  the  South  were 
present  at  this  session  of  the  Convention  not  with 
the  view  of  being  recognized  as  delegates  but  to 
confer  together  about  the  work  throughout  tlie 
South.  Holding  a  meeting,  in  which  the  ladies 
from  Arkansas  heartily  joined,  all  these  noble 
women  present  at  that  time  sent  a  communication 
to  the  Convention,  disclaiming  any  purpose  to  form 
a  separate  and  independent  organization,  and  an- 
nouncing as  their  purpose  to  work  directly  through 
the  churches  and  through  all  the  appointed  chan- 
nels of  the  Convention. 

Whatever  misapprehensions  may  have  previously 
existed  were  removed  by  this  action  on  the  part 
of  the  women  at  Augusta,  and  a  fresh  impulse  was 
given  to  the  movement  in  every  portion  of  the 
South.  Prior  to  1890  the  general  organization  for 
the  South  was  known  as  the  Executive  Committee 


306   HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

of  Woman's  Mission  Societies.  Later,  it  assumed 
the  more  dignified  designation  of  Woman's  Mission- 
ary Union. 

After  the  meeting  of  the  Southern  Baptist  Con- 
vention at  Augusta,  Georgia,  in  1885,  woman's 
work  received  appropriate  recognition.  It  became 
a  prevailing  custom  for  the  representatives  of  the 
women's  societies  from  each  State  to  assemble  at 
the  same  time  and  place  of  meeting  of  the  Southern 
Baptist  Convention.  While  auxiliary  to  the  Con- 
vention, the  women  hold  their  meetings  separately, 
and  in  another  portion  of  the  city.  Partly  through 
modesty,  and  partly  because  they  wish  to  transact 
their  business  in  a  manner  satisfactory  to  themselves, 
they  forbid  the  attendance  of  members  of  the  other 
sex.  If  one  enters  a  meeting  of  the  Union  it  is 
because  he  is  invited  to  do  so.  The  headquarters 
of  the  Woman's  Missionary  Union  is  in  the  city  of 
Baltimore.  Mrs.  A.  M.  Gwathmey  is  the  president 
of  the  body,  and  Miss  Annie  W.  Armstrong  is  the 
corresponding  se(5retary.  Besides  the  collected 
funds  which  are  contributed  directly  to  the  treas- 
uries of  the  two  general  Boards,  much  valuable  serv- 
ice is  rendered  by  the  union  in  the  distribution  of 
religious  and  missionary  literature,  and  in  furnish- 
ing stores  of  supplies  to  the  missionaries  of  the 
Home  Board  laboring  upon  the  Western  frontier. 
The  orranizations  in  some  of  the  States  assume  the 
support  of  missionaries  upon  the  foreign  field,  while 
others  attend  to  the  education  of  their  children. 


woman's  work  307 

The  j^ear  1888  marks  the  date  of  the  distinct 
organization  of  the  woman's  movement  in  the  South. 
All  the  efforts  which  preceded  that  date  were  pre- 
paratory to  a  general  organization.  Within  a  few 
of  the  States  the  work  had  been  thoroughly  and 
efficiently  organized  long  before  that  time,  but  the 
movement  did  not  become  general  until  the  date 
named.  As  the  organization  increases  in  numerical 
strength,  it  gains  in  popularity  and  multiplies  in  its 
agencies  for  work.  In  the  larger  cities  much  mis- 
sionary work  is  done,  and  much  benevolence  is 
expended  among  the  poorer  classes. 

The  following  recommendations  of  the  Executive 
Committee  adopted  at  Washington,  D.  C,  in  1895, 
clearly  set  forth  the  spirit  and  purpose  of  the 
Woman's  Missionary  Union. 

1.  Believing  that  through  the  influence  and  power  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  great  things  can  be  accomplished  for 
the  Lord,  we  suggest  that  the  first  week  in  January, 
1895 — the  World's  Week  of  Prayer — be  observed  by  the 
woman's  mission  societies  Avith  special  reference  to  the 
guidance  of  the  Spirit  in  the  extension  of  interest  in 
missions  ;  and  to  make  our  prayers  more  specific,  that 
the  Mission  (Prayer)  Card  be  more  generally  used. 

3.  That  the  recommendations  of  the  Foreign  and 
Home  Boards  asking  for  total  collections  from  woman's 
mission  societies  of  thirty  thousand  dollars  and  twenty- 
five  thousand  dollars  respectively,  be  heartily  com- 
mended ;  and  we  further  suggest,  to  give  definiteness, 
that  these  sums  be  proportioned  among  the  States. 

4.  Believing  that  in  the  young  people  is  our  future 


308    HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

strength,  we  earnestly  recommend  that  the  work  of 
organizing  mission  societies  and  bands  among  young 
women,  girls,  and  boys  be  vigorously  prosecuted.  That 
central  committees  appoint  one  of  their  number,  or  elect 
one  to  be  of  their  number,  to  take  charge  of  this  work 
in  each  State. 

5.  Encouraged  by  the  enthusiasm  with  which  the 
week  of  self-denial  was  entered  upon,  and  the  results 
following,  it  is  again  recommended  that  a  week  of  self- 
denial  be  observed  by  the  societies. 

6.  That  mothers'  meetings  and  industrial  schools  be 
organized  among  foreign  populations  and  colored  women 
and  children  ;  and  that  Sunday-schools  be  instituted  for 
the  Chinese  wherever  found,  whether  there  be  one  or 
more. 

Thus,  from  a  crude  and  tangled  form,  doubtful  of 
its  issue  in  1888,  the  woman's  movement  in  the 
South  has  become  one  of  the  most  efficient  arms  of 
sacred  work.  Foremost  in  the  establishment  of  the 
success  of  the  union  has  been  Mrs.  Ann  J.  Graves, 
Miss  M.  E.  Mcintosh  (Mrs.  Bell),  Miss  Annie  W. 
Armstrong,  Mrs.  A.  M.  Hillman,  Miss  Fannie  E. 
Heck,  Mrs.  M.  D.  Early,  Mrs.  Geo.  B.  Eager,  Mrs. 
John  Stout,  and  Mrs.  J.  P.  Eagle.  Many  others 
there  are  whose  names  are  known  to  the  Master. 
The  commendable  aim  of  the  union  is  understood 
to  be  "  to  make  of  every  Baptist  woman  an  intelli- 
gent and  active  friend  of  missions,  and  to  induce 
in  such  a  regular,  systematic  habit  of  remembering 
this  work  both  in  their  prayers  and  gifts."  ^ 

^The  development  of  woman's  work  in  the  South,  so  far  as  it 
pertains  to  the  contributions  of  funds,  is  shown  in  the  following 


woman's  work  309 

table.    Totals  for  home  and  foreign  missions  since  organiza- 
tion : 

1888 $21,039.16 

1889 30,773.69 

1890 31,237.76 

1891 38,990.34 

1892 44,282.80 

1893  (Centennial  Year) 62,336.75 

1894 45,128.59 

1895 48,449.25 

Grand  Total $322,238.34 


CHAPTER  XIV 

COLORED    BAPTISTS    AND   THEIR   WORK 

ONE  of  the  most  interesting  features  of  denomi- 
national history  in  the  South  is  that  of  the  col- 
ored Baptists.  The  beginning  of  their  spiritual 
history  antedates  their  political  emancipation  more 
than  a  century.  True,  the  enslavement  of  the 
black  man  was  a  monstrous  evil  alike  to  slave  and 
owner,  and  yet  there  were  incidental  advantages 
springing  even  from  slavery  that  were  incalculable 
to  the  Negro.  American  slavery  is  dead,  never  to 
be  revived,  and  there  could  be  no  satisfaction  de- 
rived from  a  reproduction  of  arguments  in  its  de- 
fense, even  if  the  disposition  should  exist ;  yet 
there  were  advantages  incidentally  derived  from  the 
institution,  without  which  the  colored  people  must 
have  remained  barbarians.  While  many  thousands 
of  them  were  subjected  to  the  most  exacting  labor, 
and  oftentimes  to  cruel  treatment,  there  were  yet 
many  other  thousands  whose  labor  was  light,  who 
were  exempt  from  cruel  servitude,  and  who  were 
favored  by  being  brought  into  daily  contact  with 
the  highest  culture  of  the  South.  In  the  capacities 
of  maids,  housekeepers,  seamstresses,  and  nurses,  of 
hostlers,  coachmen,  and  attendants,  they  served  by 
310 


COLORED    BAPTISTS    AND    THEIR    WORK       311 

the  ten  thousand  in  the  most  cultured  of  Southern 
homes.  Docile,  gentle,  and  impressible,  these  peo- 
ple became  the  unconscious  possessors  of  innumera- 
ble advantages  which  rendered  them  excellent  serv- 
ice when  the  period  of  emancipation  came. 

Associated  with  the  youth  of  the  whites,  thou- 
sands not  only  secured  the  rudiments  of  an  educa- 
tion, but  many  became  musicians,  speakers,  reciters, 
and  writers,  and  many  were  enabled  to  absorb  the 
conventionalities  of  social  life.  Easily  receptive 
and  deeply  emotional,  many  bright  slave  boys  caught 
the  spirit  of  oratory  from  the  numerous  rehearsals 
of  the  white  youth,  and  when  the  restraints  of 
slavery  were  lifted,  they  flashed  into  sudden  promi- 
nence as  preachers  and  as  public  speakers.  To 
many  of  them  the  transition  was  an  easy  one  from 
the  incidental  benefits  of  slavery  to  a  response 
to  the  demands  made  upon  them  when  they  were 
thrown  upon  their  own  resources.  Back  of  much 
of  the  phenomenal  advancement  of  the  black  man 
lay  the  numerous  small  advantages  enjoyed  during 
his  enslavement,  which  advantages,  in  the  aggre- 
gate, were  considerable ;  so  that  the  Negro  was 
not  an  untutored  savage  when  liberation  came. 
Many  there  were  who  had  been  imbruted  by  cruel 
masters  ;  many  who  suffered  from  lack  of  the  neces- 
saries of  life ;  many  who  were  degraded  by  the 
most  vicious  impositions ;  still  there  was  a  large 
favored  class  whose  gain  was  immense,  and  without 
the  enjoyment  of  which  the  race  would  have  been 


312   HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

deplorably  helpless  when  the  boon  of  emancipation 
was  received. 

In  recording  these  facts,  there  is  no  desire  to  rob 
the  colored  man  of  any  merit  which  justly  belongs 
to  him.  That  he  deserves  much  credit  is  true  ;  that 
he  deserves  the  meed  of  praise  for  his  prompt  and 
appropriate  use  of  means  placed  within  his  reach 
the  fair-minded  will  not  deny ;  and  that  he  has  been 
able  to  accomplish  so  much  in  the  midst  of  adverse 
conditions,  is  a  matter  of  no  small  wonder  and  an 
occasion  of  much  commendation. 

In  order  to  a  proper  estimate  of  the  history  of 
the  evangelization  of  the  colored  people  of  the 
South,  and  in  order  fully  to  understand  the  nature 
of  their  work,  we  shall  have  to  gather  up  the  scat- 
tered threads  of  history  and  knit  them  together. 

Just  before  the  beginning  of  the  Revolutionary 
War  a  colored  man,  and  a  slave,  named  George 
Liele,  was  converted  in  Burke  County,  Georgia, 
under  the  preaching  of  Matthew  Moore,  a  pioneer 
Baptist  preacher.  Having  been  baptized,  Liele  was 
permitted  to  preach,  and  his  efforts  were  attended 
with  the  happiest  results.  Liberated  by  his  mas- 
ter, Henry  Sharpe,  about  the  time  of  the  outbreak 
of  the  Revolution,  Liele  went  to  Savannah  and  be- 
gan preaching  with  great  acceptance  at  Bramton 
and  Yamacraw,  near  the  city,  as  well  as  upon  the 
outlying  plantations.  Continuing  his  work  in  this 
region  to  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  Liele  accom- 
panied the  British  to  Jamaica  as  the  body-servant 


COLORED    BAPTISTS    AND    THEIR    WORK       313 

of  an  English  officer.  Deeply  moved  by  the  degra- 
dation of  the  unchristian  masses  about  him  on  the 
island,  Liele  began  preaching  to  them.  Wherever 
he  could  gather  a  crowd,  whether  upon  the  com- 
mons or  the  race-course,  on  the  streets  or  in  his 
own  hired  house,  he  earnestly  presented  the  claims 
of  the  gospel.  His  efforts  were  rewarded  by  his 
ability  to  gather  a  church  of  four  members,  who, 
like  himself,  were  refugees  from  America. 

He  now  threw  himself  with  consuming  zeal  into 
gospel  work,  and  while  he  supported  himself,  was 
enabled  within  seven  years  to  baptize  five  hundred 
converts.  In  1793  he  erected  the  first  dissenting 
chapel  ever  built  in  Jamaica.  Meanwhile  he  was 
the  victim  of  much  sore  persecution,  having  been 
imprisoned  and  loaded  with  irons  more  than  once, 
and  once  tried  for  his  life.  From  Jamaica,  George 
Liele  was  instrumental,  through  correspondence  with 
Drs.  Ryland  and  Rippon  of  England,  in  intro- 
ducing the  gospel  into  Africa. 

Before  leaving  America  for  Jamaica,  Liele  bap- 
tized in  the  neighborhood  of  Savannah,  Andrew 
Bryan,  a  slave  who,  nine  months  after  his  conver- 
sion, began  preaching  at  Yamacraw. 

Many  converts  were  the  result  of  his  efforts.  Ob- 
taining permission  to  preach  in  a  barn  at  Bramton, 
the  good  work  went  on  until  he  was  interfered  with 
by  some  disreputable  whites,  who  attacked  the  crowd 
under  the  pretense  of  suppressing  sedition.  This 
disturbance  was  summarily  checked  by  the  slave- 


314  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

owners  of  the  community,  and  the  meetings  were 
encouraged  to  proceed.  During  all  this  time  Bryan 
w^as  not  licensed  to  preach.  Thomas  Burton,  an 
aged  white  minister,  having  heard  of  this  w^ork  of 
grace  among  the  slaves,  visited  them  and  baptized 
eighteen.  Later,  in  1788,  Abraham  Marshall,  of 
Kiokee  Church,  accompanied  by  Jesse  Peter,  a 
young  colored  preacher  of  Augusta,  visited  the 
Bramton  community  and  baptized  forty-five  more, 
organized  a  church,  and  ordained  Bryan  to  the  full 
work  of  the  ministry.  This  became  the  parent  of 
two  other  strong  colored  churches  in  Savannah. 
Bryan  died  at  the  age  of  ninety  and  was  buried 
with  marked  respect  by  the  white  Christians  of  the 
city  in  which  he  had  spent  his  life  as  a  slave 
preacher.  Slave  though  he  was,  Bryan  left  an 
estate  of  three  thousand  dollars  when  he  died. 

In  recognition  of  the  valuable  services  of  this 
slave  preacher,  the  Savannah  Association  (white)  on 
the  occasion  of  his  death,  in  1812,  adopted  the  fol- 
lowing resolutions  : 

The  Association  is  sensibly  affected  by  the  death  of 
the  Rev.  Andrew  Bryan,  a  man  of  color,  and  pastor  of 
the  First  Colored  Church  in  Savannah.  This  son  of 
Africa,  after  suffering  inexpressible  persecutions  in  the 
cause  of  his  divine  Master,  was  at  length  permitted  to 
discharge  the  duties  of  the  ministry  among  his  colored 
friends  in  peace  and  quiet,  hundreds  of  whom,  through 
his  instrumentality,  were  brought  to  a  knowledge  of  the 
truth  as  "it  is  in  Jesus."  He  closed  his  extensively 
useful  and  amazingly  luminous  course  in  the  lively  exer- 


COLORED    BAPTISTS    AND    THEIR    WORK       315 

cise  of  faith  and  in  the  joyful  hope  of  a  happy  immor- 
tality. 

The  mantle  of  Andrew  Bryan  fell  upon  his 
nephew,  Andrew  Marshall,  who  prosecuted  with 
vigor  the  work  in  the  midst  of  the  slave  population 
in  Southern  Georgia,  until  his  death  in  1856. 

One  of  the  most  notable  of  the  colored  Baptists  of 
the  South  was  Lot  Gary,  who  was  the  first  colored 
missionary  to  go  from  America  to  Africa.  Gary 
was  born  near  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
and  in  his  early  manhood  was  notoriously  corrupt 
and  vicious.  In  1804  he  was  laboring  as  a  com- 
mon slave  in  a  tobacco  warehouse  in  Richmond, 
Virginia.  Gonverted  in  1807,  he  became  a  mem- 
ber of  the  First  Baptist  Ghurch  (white),  of  Kich- 
mond,  there  being  at  that  time  no  organized  colored 
churches  in  the  South. ^ 

From  the  galleries  of  the  old  First  Ghurch  in 
Richmond,  Gary  heard  a  thrilling  sermon  based 
upon  the  conversation  of  our  Lord  with  Xicodemus. 
Here  was  born  in  his  heart  a  desire  to  preach,  that 
he  might  tell  this  thrilling  story  to  others.  Finding 
a  friendly  tutor  in  a  young  white  man,  Gary  was 
soon  able  to  read  the  New  Testament,  and  was 
licensed  to  preach.  He  became  enthusiastic  in  his 
work  among  the  blacks  in  Richmond,  and  was  soon 

1  When  converts  among  the  slaves  began  to  multiply,  galleries 
and  adjoining  compartments  to  the  main  audience  rooms  of  the 
churches  were  providetl  for  the  accommodation  of  the  colored 
people,  who  attended  upon  the  same  services  vi'ith  the  whites. 


316   HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

a  controlling  factor  among  them.  His  avidity  for 
reading  led  him  to  purchase  a  small  but  indiscrim- 
inate lot  of  books  which  he  usually  picked  up  from 
the  shelves  of  cheap  venders.  This  scanty  and 
heterogeneous  library  he  kept  within  easy  reach, 
that  no  opportunity  might  be  lost  for  mental  im- 
provement. Every  snatch  of  leisure  in  the  ware- 
house was  devoted  to  his  books.  A  passer-by  in 
the  warehouse  happened  to  pick  up  one  of  Gary's 
books  on  one  occasion  and  found  that  he  had  been 
cudgeling  his  brain  with  Adam  Smith's  "  Wealth 
of  Nations."  It  was  a  book — something  to  be 
read — and  that  was  sufficient  to  the  enslaved  stu- 
dent. He  had  chanced  upon  it,  no  doubt,  at  some 
cheap  book-stall,  or  at  a  miscellaneous  auction,  and 
was  seeking  to  unravel  its  contents.  Like  his 
namesake,  William  Carey,  he  numbered  among  his 
possessions  "  The  Voyages  of  Captain  Cook."  Who 
can  deny  that  in  the  unfolding  of  the  life  of  this 
wonderful  man  God's  hand  was  in  the  direction  of 
his  tutelage? 

By  a  careful  preservation  of  the  bits  of  tobacco 
lying  about  the  floor  of  the  warehouse,  which  were 
given  him,  and  by  an  economical  hoarding  of  the 
generous  "  tips  "  of  the  merchants  whom  he  served 
in  divers  ways,  Gary  finally  accumulated  eight 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  with  which  he  purchased 
his  freedom  and  that  of  his  children,  his  wife  having 
been  previously  freed  by  the  hand  of  death.  He 
had  no  difficulty  in  obtaining  work,  as  his  reputation 


COLORED    BAPTISTS    AND    THEIR    WORK       317 

for  honesty  was  well  known  in  the  business  circles 
of  Richmond.  He  was  one  of  the  principal  agents 
in  the  formation  of  the  African  Missionary  Soci- 
ety of  Richmond,  which  society  was  organized  in 
1815 — one  of  the  first  organized  in  America. 
Within  five  years  this  society  raised  seven  hundred 
dollars,  which  was  made  up  largely  of  the  con- 
tributions of  the  Christian  slaves. 

Though  the  possessor  of  a  pleasant  home,  which 
he  had  purchased,  and  though  pro.'?}:)erous  in  business, 
Gary  felt  desirous  of  going  to  Africa  as  a  missionary. 
His  employer  having  learned  of  this  desire,  sought 
to  dissuade  him  from  such  a  purpose,  and  increased 
his  wages  by  way  of  inducement  to  reconsider ;  but 
the  consecrated  preacher  could  not  be  moved.  He 
surrendered  his  position,  sold  his  attractive  home, 
and  offered  himself  to  the  Triennial  Convention  for 
work  in  Africa.  In  company  with  Colin  Teage, 
another  colored  preacher,  Cary  sailed  for  Africa 
in  January,  1821.  These  men  began  their  labors 
among  the  Bassas,  at  Monrovia,  Liberia,  in  1822. 
After  laboring  for  one  year  they  baptized  six,  and 
the  year  succeeding  nine  more  were  baptized.  Of 
the  wonderful  career  of  these  ex-slaves  more  cannot 
be  said  than  that  a  marvelous  work  was  done  in  the 
conversion  of  many  native  Africans  and  in  instruct- 
ing them  in  the  principles  of  government. 

The  numerical  increase  of  the  colored  Baptists  of 
the  South  is  largely  due  to  the  interest  which  was 
manifested  in    the   Negro    in  the    early  stages    of 


318  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IX  SOUTHERN  STATES 

Southern  history.  White  missionaries  were  engaged 
by  the  district  Associations  to  visit  the  populous 
plantations  and  to  preach  to  the  blacks.  Many  of 
our  most  devoted  home  missionaries  were  preachers 
to  the  slaves  upon  the  plantations.  Sometimes  the 
owner  of  many  slaves  would  engage,  upon  a  stated 
salary,  the  services  of  such  men,  and  again  the 
churches  and  Associations  would  assign  them  to 
such  work.  Again,  where  ministerial  gifts  were 
developed  among  converted  slaves  they  were  some- 
times liberated  and  appointed  to  labor  as  mission- 
aries. Respectful  consideration  was  not  withheld 
from  the  Christian  slaves  even  from  the  earliest  pe- 
riods of  Southern  history.  So  early  as  1793  a 
church  composed  exclusively  of  colored  people  in 
the  city  of  Williamsburg,  Virginia,  was  admitted 
into  the  Dover  Association,  and  they  have  continued 
all  along  to  send  delegates  to  the  annual  meetings 
of  that  body.^ 

In  1828,  the  Alabama  Association  purchased  a 
slave  named  Caesar,  at  the  cost  of  six  hundred  and 
twenty-five  dollars,  and  set  him  apart  to  the  gospel 
ministry  to  labor  among  his  people.  This  man  of 
God,  though  as  black  as  Erebus,  was  the  companion 
in  labors  for  many  years  of  James  McLemore,  a 
white  evangelist  of  local  note  in  Alabama.  Csesar 
was  universally  respected  alike  for  his  piety  and  his 
ability  as  a  preacher,  and  not  infrequently  would 
address   audiences    composed    entirely    of     whites. 

*  Semple,  "  History  of  the  Baptists  in  Virginia,"  p.  12G. 


COLORED    BAPTISTS    AND    THEIR    AVORK       319 

Another  slave,  Dock  Phillips,  who  was  a  preacher 
of  power  and  of  commanding  influence  among  his 
people,  the  Tuskegee  Association  undertook  to  pur- 
chase in  order  that  he  might  be  appointed  a  mission- 
ary ;  but  he  declined  to  be  severed  from  his  master, 
who  allowed  him  whatever  time  he  might  desire  for 
preaching. 

At  this  period  there  were  but  few  separate  organ- 
izations of  the  blacks  in  the  South.  In  the  centers 
of  population  an  occasional  colored  church  was  to  be 
met  with.  In  Savannah,  Georgia,  there  were  three 
such  churches,  the  pastors  of  which  were  sustained 
by  one-third  of  the  Negro  population  of  the  city,  at 
salaries  ranging  from  eight  hundred  to  one  thousand 
dollars  a  year.^  At  other  points  colored  churches 
were  presided  over  by  white  pastors,  as  was  true 
of  the  Anthony  Street  Church,  Mobile,  Alabama, 
where  Rev.  Keidor  Hawthorne  was  pastor.  Another 
notable  instance  is  afforded  by  the  First  African 
Church  of  Richmond,  Virginia,  of  which  Dr.  Robert 
Ryland,  then  president  of  Richmond  College,  served 
as  pastor.  He  sustained  this  relation  for  a  period 
of  twenty-five  years,  a  fact  that  denotes  devotion  and 
affection  on  the  part  of  both,  and  baptized  during 
that  time  not  less  than  three  thousand  blacks. 

The  custom   of  licensing   and  ordaining  colored 

ministers  was  prevalent  in  the  South  up  to  1825, 

after  which  date  the  practice  was  abandoned  and  in 

some  of  the  States  of  the  South,  laws  were  enacted 

^  Edward  Ingle,  "Southern  Sidelights." 


320  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

forbidding  slaves  to  be  taught  to  read/  Tliis  grew 
out  of  the  apprehension  that  if  thus  taught  they 
would  chafe  under  the  restraint  of  servitude,  and 
possibly  beget  insurrectionary  trouble.  As  has  been 
seen,  these  statutes,  however  moderate  or  severe, 
were  utterly  ignored  in  thousands  of  instances,  and 
housemaids  and  butlers  were  taught  to  read  and 
write.  The  easily  impressionable  nature  of  the 
Negro  has  made  him  readily  susceptible  to  the 
gospel,  and  he  is  usually  a  most  enthusiastic  auditor. 
During  slavery  in  the  South  Negroes  attended  in 
vast  throngs  services  held  on  the  plantations.  Their 
stentorian  melody  of  praise,  unrestrained  by  conven- 
tionality, was  often  heard  at  considerable  distances  as 
they  would  heartily  throw  their  souls  into  the  worship. 
When  the  slaves  attended  upon  the  same  churches  as 
the  whites,  the  former  generally  outnumbered  the  lat- 
ter, and  when  the  Lord's  Supper  was  observed,  slaves 
communed  with  their  masters.  Among  the  notable 
instances  of  the  devotion  of  colored  Baptists  to 
their  principles  may  be  mentioned  the  fact  that, 
in  portions  of  Louisiana  which  were  completely 
under  the  domination  of  the  French  Catholics 
where  the  religion  of  the  Romanist  alone  pre- 
vailed, the  Negro  slaves  of  these  people  were  al- 
lowed to  engage  in  no  other  form  of  worship  than 
that  of  the  Roman  Catholic. 


^  The  States  of  Alabama,  Georgia,  North  Carolina,  South  Caro- 
lina, and  Virginia  had  express  provisions  in  their  laws  against 
the  instruction  of  free  Negroes. 


COLORED    BAPTISTS   AND    THEIR    WORK      321 

After  their  emancipation  the  fact  became  known 
that  these  enslaved  people  had  secretly  maintained 
Baptist  worship  for  a  long  period  of  years.  They 
had  their  regular  organizations  upon  the  planta- 
tions— their  preachers,  their  deacons — all.  Under 
the  cover  of  darkness  in  unfrequented  quarters  these 
Baptist  slaves  would  hold  their  services  as  noise- 
lessly as  possible,  and  observe  the  ordinances  in  due 
form.  One  feature  of  Romish  worship  greatly  im- 
pressed these  benighted  slaves,  and  that  was  the 
baptism  of  infants.  To  the  ignorant  slave  there 
was  a  fetich  fascination  in  this  ceremony,  and  long 
after  the  period  of  emancipation,  colored  Baptist 
preachers  in  some  portions  of  Louisiana  used  the 
ceremony  of  the  sprinkling  of  infants  with  water  as 
an  act  of  the  consecration  of  the  child  to  the  Lord. 

The  records  of  the  Baptist  organizations  in  the 
South,  prior  to  the  Civil  War,  abound  in  allusions 
to  provisions  made  for  Christianizing  the  Negro. 
Believing  that  more  could  be  accomplished  by  mem- 
bers of  their  own  race  in  Africa  than  by  white  mis- 
sionaries, two  colored  men — J.  Day  and  A.  L. 
Jones — were  sent  in  1846,  by  the  Southern  Baptist 
Convention,  to  the  Dark  Continent.  These  were 
followed  by  others  at  later  periods. 

Considered  as  a  body,  the  colored  Baptists  of  the 
South,  according  to  the  eleventh  census,  1890,  con- 
stitute the  most  numerous  section  of  Regular  Bap- 
tists in  the  world.  Multitudinous  as  these  figures 
show  the  colored  Baptists  to  be,  they  do  not  include 


322  HISTOEY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

all  American  Negro  Baptists.  Many  of  these  reside 
in  the  North  and  are  quite  generally  members  of 
white  churches  and  are  counted  with  them  without 
distinction,  in  the  census  aggregate. 

There  are  many  others  who  are  not  included  in 
the  great  national  count,  because  of  obscure  rural 
churches  and  of  Associations  of  colored  Baptists 
which  were  not  reached  by  the  census  officers. 
Many  again  failed,  for  divers  reasons,  to  respond 
to  repeated  requests  made  by  the  national  officials 
to  clerks  or  moderators  for  statistics.  It  is  pre- 
sumed that  a  third  or  more  of  the  colored  Baptist 
Associations  of  the  South  failed  to  furnish  adequate 
statistics  of  numbers  and  of  property.  Notwith- 
standing this,  we  have  the  figures  given  below.^ 

1  Georgia  leads  with  200,516  colored  Baptists ;  Virginia,  199,. 
871 ;  Alabama,  142,437 ;  Mississippi,  136,647 ;  North  Carolina, 
134,445;  South  Carolina,  125,572;  Tennessee,  52,183;  Kentucky, 
50,245  ;  Florida,  20,828  ;  District  of  Columbia,  12,717  ;  Maryland, 
7,750 ;  West  Virginia,  4,233 ;  Louisiana,  68,008.  The  grand  aggre- 
gate for  the  States  named,  together  with  the  District  of  Columbia, 
is  1,087,445.  The  following  table  furnishes  additional  data  of  in- 
terest respecting  colored  Baptists : 

ORGANIZA.-      CHURCH        SEATING   VALUE  CHURCH 
TIONS.         EDIFICES.    CAPACITY.       PROPERTY. 

Alabama 1,374  1,341  376,839  $    795,384 

District  of  Columbia..       43  33  18,600  383,150 

Florida 329  295  61,588  137,578 

Georgia 1,818  1,800  544,546  1,045,310 

Kentucky 378  359  109,030  406,949 

Louisiana 865  861  191,041  609,890 

Maryland 38  34  12,389  150,475 

Mississippi 1,385  1,333  371,115  682,541 

North  Carolina 1,173  1,164  362.946  705,512 

South  Carolina 800  836  275,529  699,961 

Tennessee 569  534  159,140  519,923 

Virginia *1,001  977  356,032  1,192,035 

West  Virginia 79  50  14,175  59,090 


COLORED    BAPTISTS    AND    THEIR    WORK       323 

For  reasons  already  assigned,  the  colored  Bap- 
tists of  the  South  were  not  wholly  unprepared  to 
withdraw  from  the  churches  of  the  whites  and  to 
enter  into  independent  organizations,  when  the 
period  of  emancipation  came.  This  was  clearly 
seen  to  be  the  wisest  step  possible  on  the  part  of  the 
blacks,  and  yet  they  were  not  left  wholly  uncared 
for  by  the  whites.  Wherever  aid  was  sought,  and 
it  could  be  extended,  it  was  cordially  given  to  the 
struggling  blacks.  In  the  work  of  organization, 
both  of  churches  and  of  Associations,  in  the  ordina- 
tion of  ministers  and  deacons,  and  in  the  erection 
of  schoolhouses  and  church  buildings,  substantial 
aid  was  cheerfully  rendered. 

There  has  been,  on  the  part  of  the  colored  Bap- 
tists, a  most  commendable  progress  in  the  develop- 
ment of  church  life.  So  soon  as  they  were  able  to 
do  so,  they  organized  themselves  into  district  Asso- 
ciations, then  into  the  more  general  bodies  of  State 
and  national  Conventions.  The  colored  Baptists  of 
North  Carolina  were  the  first  to  organize  a  State 
Convention,  M'hich  was  done  in  1866,  with  Alabama 
and  Virginia  following  in  1867.  Later,  there  came 
in  point  of  time  Arkansas  and  Kentucky,  to  be  fol- 
lowed by  the  other  States  of  the  South  still  later. 

As  soon  as  this  spirit  of  organization  began  to 
prevail  in  the  States  of  the  South,  representative 
colored  men  came  from  the  North  to  assist  and 
direct  in  the  matter  of  affiliation  with  the  larger 
bodies. 


324  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

In  August,  1866,  the  twenty-sixth  anniversary  of 
the  colored  Missionary  Convention  was  held  in 
Richmond,  Virginia,  when  it  was  determined  to 
consolidate  all  of  the  general  interests  of  colored 
Baptists — the  Missionary,  Northwestern,  and  South- 
ern Conventions — into  one  body,  which  was  called 
the  Consolidated  American  Baptist  Missionary  Con- 
vention. Eleven  years  later,  this  consolidated  body 
met  again  in  Richmond,  when  some  very  decided 
diiferences  of  opinion  arose  respecting  questions  of 
management  and  extent  of  jurisdiction.  Disruption 
for  a  time  threatened  the  body,  but  it  was  pre- 
served. Dissolution  ultimately  came,  however,  until 
now  the  field  embraced  by  the  States  of  the  South  is 
included  in  the  Baptist  Foreign  Missionary  Conven- 
tion of  the  United  States,  which  body  was  formed 
in  1880.  In  1883,  this  Convention  sent  six  mis- 
sionaries to  Africa — J.  H.  Presley  and  W.  W. 
Colley,  together  with  their  wives,  and  J.  J.  Coles 
and  H.  McKinney. 

The  American  National  Baptist  Convention  was 
organized  in  1886  in  St.  Louis.  It  was  a  large 
representative  body  of  six  hundred  delegates  from 
seventeen  States.  The  advancement  of  the  colored 
people  was  indicated  by  the  fact  that  there  were 
present  "  graduates  in  law,  medicine,  and  theology  ; 
professors  of  philosophy,  German,  French,  Latin, 
Greek,  and  Hebrew ;  a  number  of  State  ex-repre- 
sentatives and  ex-senators ;  two  lieutenant-govern- 
ors ;    editors  and  teachers,   not    a  few ;   a  Baptist 


COLORED    BAPTISTS    AND   THEIR   WORK      325 

senator  from  Mississippi ;  and  a  Baptist  missionary 
from  London,  England."  Rev.  T.  L.  Johnson,  one 
of  the  speakers  of  the  occasion  said :  "  Knox  lifted 
up  Scotland ;  Luther  lifted  up  Germany ;  and  it  is 
for  us  to  lift  up  the  heathen  in  the  land  of  our 
fathers."  ^ 

The  genuine  orthodoxy  of  this  body  was  set  forth 
in  1890,  when  a  resolution  was  adopted  recommend- 
ing that  the  practice  of  receiving  into  membership 
persons  immersed  into  Pedobaptist  churches  be 
discontinued,  on  the  ground  that  Pedobaptist  or- 
ganizations are  not  churches,  and  therefore  have  no 
power  to  administer  baptism.  The  exchange  of 
pulpits  with  Pedobaptists  was  also  condemned  as 
"  inconsistent  and  erroneous."  ^ 

The  colored  Baptists  of  all  the  States  of  the 
South  have  nearly  thirty  schools  of  high  grade, 
which  are  largely  devoted  to  the  preparation  of 
preachers  and  teachers.  The  first  of  these  to  be 
organized  was  that  of  Roger  Williams  University, 
at  Nashville,  Tennessee,  in  1864.  It  has  a  col- 
lege property  valued  at  two  hundred  and  five  thou- 
sand dollars.  The  next  two  schools  were  founded 
respectively  at  Raleigh,  N.  C,  and  Washington, 
D.  C,  in  1865;  the  first,  Shaw  University,  hav- 
ing a  property  valued  at  two  hundred  and  fifteen 
thousand  five  hundred  dollars,  and  the  second, 
Wayland  Seminary,  the  property  of  which  is  valued 

1  Dr.  Cook's  "  story  of  the  Baptists,"  p.  423. 
2  Dr.  H.  K.  Carroll,  "  The  Religious  Forces  of  the  U.  S.,"  p.  28. 


326  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

at  one  hundred  and  thirteen  thousand  dollars.  In 
1867,  the  Atlanta  Seminary  was  founded,  and  now 
it  has  a  property,  the  total  valuation  of  which  is 
eighty-five  thousand  five  hundred  dollars.  The 
Benedict  College,  at  Columbia,  founded  in  1870, 
has  a  property  estimated  at  one  hundred  and  twelve 
thousand  dollars.  In  1873,  the  Florida  Institute 
Avas  established  at  Live  Oak,  and  its  property  valu- 
ation is  ten  thousand  and  fifty  dollars.  In  Jackson, 
Mississippi,  is  Jackson  College,  organized  in  1877, 
and  its  property  is  estimated  to  be  worth  twenty- 
five  thousand  dollars.  The  Selma  University  was 
established  at  Selma,  Alabama,  in  1878,  and  it  owns 
a  property  valued  at  twenty  thousand  two  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars.  The  college  of  Kentucky  for 
colored  Baptists,  is  located  at  Louisville,  and  is 
known  as  the  State  University.  It  was  founded  in 
1879,  and  owns  a  property  valued  at  thirty  thousand 
five  hundred  dollars.  Spelman  Seminary,  of  At- 
lanta, Georgia,  was  instituted  in  1881,  and  owns  a 
property  the  valuation  of  which  is  one  hundred  and 
fifty-three  thousand  dollars.  Leland  University 
was  established  in  1870  at  New  Orleans,  Louisiana, 
and  possesses  a  most  valuable  property,  estimated 
to  be  worth  one  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  dol- 
lars. These  are  the  principal  schools  which  are 
under  the  management  of  the  colored  Baptists  in 
the  Southern  States  east  of  the  Mississippi.  Most 
of  these  schools  are  the  result  of  Northern  bene- 
factions, and  most  of  them,  as  well  as  others  of  less 


COLORED    BAPTISTS    AND    THEIR    WORK       327 

note,  are  maintained  by  the  American  Baptist  Home 
Mission  Society. 

Among  the  periodicals  owned  and  conducted  by 
the  colored  Baptists  of  the  region  of  country  under 
consideration  may  be  named  :  "  The  African  Expos- 
itor," Raleigh,  N.  C.  ;  "  American  Baptist,"  Louis- 
ville, Ky. ;  "  Baptist  Messenger,"  Jackson,  Miss. ; 
"Georgia  Baptist"  and  "Weekly  Sentinel,"  Au- 
gusta, Ga.  ;  "  Baptist  Signal,"  Greenville,  Miss. ; 
"The  Living  Way"  and  "Memphis  Watchman," 
Memphis,  Tenn.  ;  "  Richmond  Planet "  and  "  Afri- 
can Missions,"  Richmond,  Va.  ;  "  West  Virginia 
Enterprise,"  Charlestown,  W.  Va. ;  "  Baptist  Trib- 
une," Columbia,  S.  C.  ;  "  Baptist  Leader,"  Mont- 
gomery, Ala.  ;  and  "  Baptist  Review,"  Atlanta,  Ga. 
The  most  of  these  are  strictly  denominational  in 
character.  A  large  number  of  papers  are  issued  by 
the  colored  Baptists  of  the  South  which  are  politico- 
religious,  while  others  are  entirely  political.  One 
of  the  most  promising  features  of  the  race  is  that 
they  are  omnivorous  readers. 

Allusion  has  been  made  to  the  fondness  which 
the  colored  man  has  for  meetings  of  a  religious 
character.  Coupled  with  this,  was  his  equal  fond- 
ness for  the  diversion  afforded  by  the  "  shuffle  "  and 
"the  breakdown."  It  was  the  care  of  many  mas- 
ters during  the  days  of  slavery  that  diversions  be 
had  by  the  slaves  on  Saturday  night.  In  order  to 
this,  labor  was  often  suspended  before  the  close  of 
the  day.      As  a  result  the  Negro  quarters  upon  the  * 


328  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

plantations  of  the  South  woukl  resound  every  Sat- 
urday night  with  tlie  music  of  "  the  fiddle  and  the 
bow/'  the  clapping  of  hands,  the  rattling  of  bones, 
and  hilarious  laughter.  This  was  responded  to  by 
the  shuffle  and  thump  of  agile  dancers.  Often  till 
the  wee  sma'  hours  was  this  hilarity  indulged  in. 
But  all  this  has  changed.  One  rarely  hears  now 
the  tumult  of  the  dancers  in  the  Negro  quarters  of 
the  South.  The  rude  frolic  of  former  days  has  been 
almost  entirely  supplanted  by  the  religious  gather- 
ing. Instead  of  the  strains  of  the  banjo  and  violin, 
one  hears  now  the  song  of  praise  and  the  voice  of 
exhortation.  The  changes  wrought  in  this  people, 
and  the  progress  made  under  such  conditions,  make 
them  one  of  the  most  remarkable  races  of  history. 
In  their  religious  inclinations,  the  Negroes  are 
Baptists.  Even  when  becoming  members  of  other 
denominations  they  frequently  insist  upon  immer- 
sion as  the  only  baptism.  In  his  work  entitled — 
"  Men  of  Mark — Eminent,  Professional,  and  Eis- 
ing,"  Dr.  W.  J.  Simmons,  the  well-known  colored 
preacher,  insists  with  evident  satisfaction  :  "  I  claim 
that  there  are  in  the  United  States,  more  colored 
Baptists  than  white  Baptists,  and  more  colored  Bap- 
tists than  all  Pedobaptists  together." 


CHAPTER  XV 

CONCLUSION 

Having  traced  the  development  of  the  Baptist 
denomination  in  the  Southern  States  east  of  the 
Mississippi,  through  a  period  of  more  than  two 
hundred  years,  we  are  able,  from  the  present  ground 
of  advantage,  to  review  the  eventful  eras  through 
which  we  have  come,  and  to  study  with  interest,  and 
perhaps  with  profit,  the  causes  which  have  contrib- 
uted to  our  growth.  Far  beneath  the  movements 
of  men  and  communities,  of  churches  and  conven- 
tions, lie  the  philosophy  of  deeds  and  the  instruction 
of  events 

That  on  the  stretched  forefinger  of  all  Time 
Sparkle  forever. 

It  is  a  fact  worthy  of  attention  that,  though  in 
the  beginning  the  principles  of  liberty  advocated 
by  Baptist  pioneers  in  America  were  stoutly  resisted 
at  every  step,  they  have  become  the  fundamental 
law  of  the  land.  Consistent  and  meritorious  ag- 
gression has  overborne  the  most  forbidding  obstruc- 
tions and  has  contributed,  in  the  largest  degree,  to 
the  freedom  now  enjoyed  throughout  this  broad 
land  of  States.     Along  with  the  inculcation  of  these 

329 


330  HISTOKY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

principles  'which  underlie  our  national  framework, 
has  been  a  development  of  the  people  who  were 
their  chief  supporters  in  the  outset ;  and  have  been 
their  uncompromising  patrons  to  the  present.  Nay, 
the  denomination  has  vastly  outgrown  the  nation. 
While  in  the  United  States  the  population  has  in- 
creased sixteen-fold,  the  Baptists  of  the  country 
have  grown  fifty-six-fold,  or  nearly  four  times  as 
fast  as  the  population  of  the  country. 

Nor  can  this  marvelous  growth  be  attributed  to 
immigration,  for  statistics  abundantly  show  that 
while  other  denomiuations  have  derived  great  nu- 
merical increase  from  immigration,  Baptists  have 
derived  little  or  no  benefit  therefrom.  In  the  sec- 
tion of  States  under  review  in  this  work,  the  number 
of  regular  Baptists  alone  has  reached  the  enormous 
figure  of  one  million  eight  hundred  and  eight  thou- 
sand three  hundred  and  seven. 

In  their  relation  to  the  outlying  heathen  world, 
Baptists  sustain  missionary  facilities  that  do  great 
honor  to  the  wisdom  of  the  fathers  of  the  denomi- 
nation. Systems  well  constructed  and  properly 
adapted  to  the  evangelization  of  the  heathen  have 
been  founded  and  are  in  successful  operation.  Im- 
mense organizations  established  upon  the  most  im- 
proved methods  of  success  for  eliciting,  combining, 
and  directing  beneficent  agencies,  are  under  Baptist 
control,  and  are  directed  with  methodical  success. 
Missionary  representatives  are  at  work  in  the 
crowded  centers,  the  neglected  districts,  and  on  the 


CONCLUSION  331 

remote  frontier  regions  of  America — in  Mexico, 
Cuba,  Brazil,  China,  Italy,  Africa,  and  Japan. 

In  the  early  settlement  of  the  country  and  until 
a  considerable  period  after  the  Revolution,  American 
Baptists,  as  a  body,  were  an  illiterate  folk.  Their 
ignorance  won  for  them  the  contempt  of  ecclesiasti- 
cal opponents.  But,  at  diiferent  times,  there  were 
developed  a  few  great  leaders  like  Manning  and 
Maxcy,  and  later,  of  Wayland  at  the  North,  and 
of  Furman,  Holcorabe,  and  Mercer  at  the  South, 
who  combined  scholarship  with  sturdy  good  sense, 
and  were  denomination  builders,  on  the  educational 
side.  Directing  with  skill  the  scanty  resources  at 
command,  and  marshaling  with  adroitness  every 
encouragement  developed,  these  earnest  men  of  God 
provided  a  leverage  for  the  future  elevation  of  the 
Baptists  of  America.  While  with  a  great  people 
who  had  obtained  a  popular  foothold  in  every 
State,  there  must  needs  have  been  blunders,  es- 
pecially where  so  much  was  undertaken  in  educa- 
tional work,  still  the  close  of  the  second  century  of 
Baptist  history  finds  the  denomination  with  many 
institutions  of  high  grade,  attaining  indeed  to  the 
highest,  most  widely  distributed  and  deservedly  pop- 
ular throughout  the  country. 

While  in  the  South  many  of  these  interests  were 
prostrated  as  a  result  of  the  Civil  War,  most  of 
them  have  been  revived,  and  are  to-day  among  the 
most  powerful  and  salutary  forces  of  our  civiliza- 
tion.    With    the    freedom   of  the   slave   came  the 


332  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

establishment  of  schools  for  his  elevation  in  the 
scale  of  moral  and  intellectual  excellence.  These 
give  to  colored  Baptists  numerous  advantages  over 
those  colored  representatives  of  other  denominations 
in  the  States  most  populous  with  that  race. 

Baptists  were  the  first  of  the  denominations  of 
the  South  to  lay  hold  of  the  press  as  an  engine  of 
strength  and  progress.  As  the  region  has  grown  in 
population  and  in  prosperity,  this  agency  has  im- 
proved, and  its  influence  has  broadened,  until  it  has 
become  a  stupendous  factor  in  the  States  of  the 
South. 

Among  the  chief  elements  of  success  which  have 
come  into  the  possession  of  Baptists  is  that  of  wealth. 
Prior  to  the  Civil  War,  many  Baptists  in  the  South 
were  very  wealthy ;  but  with  the  crash  of  Southern 
institutions  came  the  destruction  of  most  of  the 
wealth  of  this  section.  But  there  has  been  a  grad- 
ual rehabilitation  of  thousands  of  estates  together 
with  the  production  of  wealth  from  many  new 
sources.  In  this,  Baptists  who  constitute  so  large 
a  percentage  of  the  population  have,  of  course, 
shared.  By  reason  of  their  overwhelming  numbers 
in  some  of  the  States,  they  own  a  preponderance  of 
property  as  compared  with  other  denominations. 
Combined  with  other  advantageous  elements,  this 
gives  to  Baptists  social  position. 

But  the  chief  source  of  visible  strength  to  the 
Baptists  is  the  firm  hold  which  they  have  upon  the 
sturdy  middle   class   of  the   country.     They  reach 


CONCLUSION  333 

and  control  more  of  that  class  perhaps  than  any 
other  denomination  of  Christians  on  the  continent. 
From  the  beginning  this  has  been  a  basal  element 
of  denominational  strength,  and  to  this  fact  may  be 
largely  attributed  Baptist  achievements  in  America. 

Such  are  some  of  the  chief  advantages  enjoyed  by 
the  Baptists  of  America.  Should  denominational 
success  continue  at  the  same  ratio  of  increase  to  the 
close  of  the  twentieth  century,  Baptist  influence  will 
be  beyond  competition. 

But  while  these  advantages  exist,  and  they  are 
considerable,  are  there  no  possible  drawbacks  to 
Baptist  growth  and  influence  ?  Are  there  no  snares 
besetting  the  future?  In  a  land  of  unparalleled 
prosperity  there  is  grave  danger  arising  from  a 
spirit  of  worldliness.  Baptists  have  endured  the 
ordeal  of  struggle  and  affliction  and  have  thriven ; 
will  they  be  able  to  thrive  with  the  increasing  pros- 
perity of  the  country  ? 

The  solidity  of  church  life  has  been  preserved  by 
the  exercise  of  a  wholesome  discipline  in  the  local 
organizations.  The  inroads  of  worldliness  will  in- 
evitably impair  this  distinct  feature  of  our  churches 
and  invite  decay.  One  of  the  direct  results  of 
worldliness  is  a  decline  of  benevolence.  Should 
that  spirit  decline  rather  than  increase  with  the 
material  prosperity  with  which  the  churches  are 
blessed,  disastrous  results  will  follow.  Upon  Bap- 
tists more  than  upon  others  rests  the  responsibility 
of  meeting  this  strain.     If  so  much  has  been  accom- 


334  HISTORY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

plished  in  spite  of  persecution  and  opposition,  how 
much  greater  should  be  denominational  success  with 
these  obstructions  entirely  removed,  and  with  im- 
mense prosperity  at  ready  command. 

Another  danger  springing  from  the  spirit  of  the 
times  is  that  of  superficiality  of  results.  The  appre- 
hension is  not  without  foundation  that  as  we  increase 
numerically  there  is  danger  of  a  corresponding  spir- 
itual loss.  Church  progress  has  come  to  be  esti- 
mated too  much  by  the  enrollment  upon  the  church 
register.  There  is  a  widespread  desire  for  increased 
numbers  rather  than  for  increased  efficiency.  Pas- 
tors are  sought  who  "  draw  "  rather  than  those  who 
build.  In  the  craze  for  large  accessions,  organiza- 
tion is  neglected,  discrimination  and  caution  are  not 
exercised  in  the  reception  of  members,  and  convert 
culture  goes  for  naught. 

Kruramacher  is  credited  with  the  saying,  "  The 
Baptists  have  a  future."  The  statement  of  the 
German  theologian  is  suggestive  of  the  fact  that 
Baptists  are  charged  with  a  peculiar  mission  which 
is  as  yet  unfulfilled.  They  have  succeeded  as  a 
people  in  making  their  impress  upon  the  world 
alone  by  their  fidelity  to  the  sacred  trusts  com- 
mitted to  them.  Their  influence  is  discovered  by 
the  practical  adoption  of  their  view^s  by  a  large 
number  of  Pedobaptist  churches.  The  steady  and 
consistent  observance  of  the  principles  held  all 
along  by  Baptists  has  gradually  brought  into  dis- 
repute  infant  baptism ;    and  in   proportion   to   the 


COXCLUSION  335 

decline  of  this  practice  has  been  the  growth  of  the 
doctrine  of  immersion.  In  consideration  of  their 
numbers,  influence,  resources,  and  opportunities,  the 
possibility  of  future  achievement  seems  boundless. 

The  story  of  the  Baptists  of  the  South  for  two 
hundred  years  is  one  unequaled  by  that  of  any 
other  people  in  the  annals  of  time.  From  a  few 
struggling  outposts  along  the  Atlantic,  in  the  begin- 
ning scarcely  daring  the  deed  of  self-assertion  lest  a 
storm  of  persecution  be  invoked,  they  have  become 
a  people  multitudinous  in  number,  and  of  immense 
resources.  Pitied  and  despised  by  an  arrogance 
that  accounted  their  forefathers  the  offscouring  of 
the  earth,  resisted  by  an  intolerance  whose  self- 
devotion  blinded  it  to  the  noblest  elements  of  char- 
acter, and  overridden  by  a  haughtiness  whose  self- 
ishness withheld  all  suffrage  save  that  doled  out  by 
stinted  hands.  Baptists  have  thriven  in  this  goodly 
land  and  have  expanded  as  the  garden  of  the  Lord. 
Opposition  has  made  them  great.  The  benediction 
has  come  to  the  reviled  and  persecuted. 

To-day  we  are  confronted  by  the  danger  of  undue 
consciousness  of  greatness  that  may  be  a  reversal  of 
the  law  by  which  we  have  attained  the  commanding 
heights.  There  is  appprehension  lest  our  humility 
be  transformed  into  the  very  intolerance  against 
which  an  humble  spiritual  ancestry  strove  and 
became  great.  Insidious  pride  follows  fast  upon 
human  success,  and  multiplies  pitfalls  in  exact 
proportion    to    achievement.     The  Chaldean    mon- 


336  HISTOEY  OF  BAPTISTS  IN  SOUTHERN  STATES 

arch  was  within  a  single  stride  of  the  level  of  the 
grazing  herds  when  puffed  with  vanity  he  paced  his 
capital  walls  and  gloried  in  his  grandeur;  while  the 
Hebrew  prophet  was  greatest  in  his  dungeon  with 
the  command  ringing  in  his  ears  :  "■  Buy  the  field 
that  is  in  Anathoth,  for  the  right  of  redemption  is 
thine  to  buy  it." 

Kestraint  of  independent  thought  and  an  arbi- 
trary erection  of  barriers  against  expressed  indi- 
vidual opinion — barriers  as  inexorable  as  the  ram- 
parts of  the  sea,  saying,  "Thus  far  shalt  thou  go 
and  no  farther/'  is  akin  to  the  intolerance  that  built 
the  Inquisition. 

Questions  and  problems,  grave  and  complicated, 
are  destined  to  be  raised  in  the  future  as  in  the 
past.  These  cannot  be  met  with  fiery  zeal  and  im- 
petuous intolerance.  In  matters  of  grave  import 
the  wise  counsel  of  Gamaliel  is  suited  alike  to  all 
times :  "  If  this  counsel  or  this  work  be  of  men,  it 
will  be  overthrown  :  but  if  it  is  of  God,  ye  will  not 
be  able  to  overthrow  them  ;  lest  haply  ye  be  found 
even  to  be  fighting  against  God." ' 

iActs5:38,  39.,  R.  V. 


APPENDIX  A 


OTHER   BAPTIST   FAMILIES 

Besides  that  great  family  of  Baptists,  the  history 
of  which  is  briefly  presented  in  this  volume,  there 
are  others,  ten  in  number,  each  of  which  bears  a 
distinct  name,  and  are  expressive  of  the  professed 
principles  of  each.  These  are :  the  Seventh  Day, 
Six  Principle,  Freewill,  Original  Freewill,  General, 
Separate,  United,  Baptist  Church  of  Christ,  Anti- 
missionary,  and  Old  Two-Seed-in-the-Spirit  Predes- 
tinarian  Baptists. 

All  these  agree  in  two  particulars,  viz. : 

1.  That  the  only  subjects  of  Christian  baptism 
are  those  who  have  been  converted  and  profess  per- 
sonal faith  in  Christ,  and 

2.  That  the  only  scriptural  baptism  is  immersion. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  they  reject  in- 
fant baptism  as  invalid,  and  sprinkling  or  pouring 
as  unscriptural. 

There  are  still  other  denominations,  akin  to  the 

Baptists,  which  accept  these  principles  wholly,  or  in 

part,  such  as  the  Disciples   of  Christ,  Christians, 

Mennonites,  and  others,  but  they  are  not  Baptists, 

and  are  never  so  classified. 

w  337 


338  APPENDIX    A 

The  Disciples  of  Christ  accept  the  principles 
named,  but  they  also  insist  that  only  through  baptism 
does  "  divine  assurance  of  remission  of  sins  and  ac- 
ceptance with  God"  come.  The  Christians  generally 
insist  upon  the  immersion  of  believers,  but  will  accept 
pouring  or  sprinkling.  The  Mennonites  believe  in 
pouring  and  usually  adopt  this.  The  Regular  Bap- 
tists are  divided  into  Northern,  Southern,  and  Col- 
ored. In  doctrine,  they  are  Calvinistic.  The  Free- 
will Baptists,  in  both  its  branches,  together  with  the 
General  Baptists,  and  others,  are  Arminian.  The 
Anti-missionary  Baptists,  of  which  there  are  two  or 
three  bodies,  are  hyper-Calvinistic. 

The  Seventh  Day  Baptists. — Originally  these 
were  called  Sabbatarian  Baptists.  They  appeared 
in  England  in  the  latter  part  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury. They  derive  their  name  from  the  observance 
of  Saturday  as  a  sacred  day,  or  as  a  day  of  rest. 
This  body  was  known  as  Sabbatarians,  or  Sabba- 
tarian Baptists,  until  the  General  Conference  of  the 
body  in  1818,  when  the  name  was  changed  to  that 
of  Seventh  Day  Baptists.  The  first  Seventh  Day 
Baptist  church  established  in  America  was  founded 
at  Newport,  Rhode  Island,  in  1671.  Stephen  Mum- 
ford,  of  England,  was  its  founder.  From  this  colony 
have  come  all  the  people  of  that  name  to  be  found 
to-day  in  different  portions  of  the  United  States. 
Reaching  southward,  Philadelphia,  and  Piscataway, 
New  Jersey,  became  other  distributing  centers. 


OTHER    BAPTIST    FAMILIES  339 

They  entered  the  South  in  1754,  when  Rev.  John 
Gregory  led  a  colony  from  Pennsylvania  and  New 
Jersey  into  South  Carolina,  and  they  organized  a 
church  on  Broad  River,  in  St.  Mark's  Parish.  In 
1769  or  1770,  eight  other  families  removed  from 
Chester  (now  Delaware  County),  Pennsylvania,  and 
joined  them.  A  revival  of  religion  followed  this 
event,  when  twenty-four  members  were  added  to 
the  church.  At  that  time  they  were  a  prosperous 
community  of  eighteen  families.  This  is  as  far  as 
trustworthy  records  can  trace  them. 

From  this  time  they  disappear  from  history. 
They  were  located  possibly  not  far  from  the  present 
town  of  Manning,  South  Carolina.  The  principal 
families  of  the  colony  were  named  Price,  Hughes, 
Johnston,  Owen,  Jackson,  Gregory,  Nelly,  Seymour, 
and  Noble.  Were  they  absorbed  by  the  Regular 
Baptists  of  that  region  ? 

In  1759  Rev.  Richard  Gregory  led  a  company  of 
eight  families  into  the  Tuckaseeking  region,  about 
forty  miles  north  of  Savannah,  and  organized  a 
Seventh  Day  Baptist  church.  Richard  Gregory 
preceded  Daniel  Marshall  at  Kiokee  about  twelve 
years.  This  colony  of  Seventh  Day  Baptists  left 
Kiokee  in  1765  and  returned  across  the  Savannah 
River  and  settled  at  Edisto,  South  Carolina.  Other 
traces  of  these  people  are  found  in  North  Carolina, 
but  they  are  dim. 

The  Seventh  Day  Baptists  hold  the  views  gen- 
erally held  by  the  great  Baptist  family,  and  differ 


340  APPENDIX    A 

from  the  others  chiefly  by  observing  the  seventh 
instead  of  the  first  day  of  the  week,  as  a  sacred  day. 
"  They  believe  that  the  seventh  day  is  the  Sabbath 
of  the  Lord,  that  it  Avas  instituted  in  Eden,  promul- 
gated at  Sinai,  made  binding  upon  all  men  at  all 
times  and  is,  in  the  nature  of  its  relation  to  God 
and  to  man,  irrepealable.  They  hold  that  any  at- 
tempt to  connect  the  Sabbath  law  and  obligation 
with  any  other  day  of  the  week  is  illogical,  and 
tends  to  destroy  the  Institution."  ^ 

These  people  have  suifered  persecution  in  some  of 
the  States  for  the  disregard  of  Sunday  as  a  sacred 
day.  This  has  been  true  both  in  Tennessee  and  in 
Georgia. 

They  have  two  collegiate  institutions,  one  located 
at  Milton,  Wisconsin,  and  the  other  at  Alfred  Cen- 
ter, New  York.  The  denomination  is  represented 
in  twenty-four  States.  Of  the  States  which  come 
within  the  compass  of  treatment  in  this  volume,  in 
which  the  Seventh  Day  Baptists  exist,  are  Alabama, 
Florida,  Kentucky,  Mississippi,  North  Carolina, 
West  Virginia,  Georgia,  and  Tennessee,  having  a 
total  membersliip  in  the  States  named  of  nine  hun- 
dred and  thirty. 

The  Freewill.  Baptists. — This  organization 
sprang  up  in  New  Durham,  New  Hampshire,  in 
1780.  Its  representatives  derive  their  name  from 
the  doctrine  held  by  them  concerning  the  will.    The 

1  Dr.  H.  K.  Carroll,  "  Religious  Forces  in  the  U.  S.,"  p.  31. 


OTHER    BAPTIST    FAMILIES  341 

founder  of  the  sect,  Benjamin  Randall  was  at  first 
a   Congregationalist,  but   his  views   undergoing   a 
change,  he  became  a  Baptist.     Refusing  to  accept 
the  doctrines  usually  held  by  the  Baptists  at  that 
time,  concerning  predestination,  election,  a  limited 
atonement,  and  the  final  perseverance  of  the  saints, 
he   was    accounted    unsound    and    fellowship    was 
promptly   denied    him.      This    occurred    in    1779. 
The  following  year  he  secured  ordination  at  the 
hands  of  two  Baptist  ministers  who  coincided  with 
him   in  his  views.     The  Freewill  Baptist  church 
which  he  forthwith  organized  was,  like  all  others  in 
New  England  at  the  time,  spoken  of  simply  as  a 
Baptist  church.      Within  the  next  twenty  years,  the 
members  of  these  churches  being  popularly  called 
"  Freewillers,"  the  distinctive  name  of  "  Freewill " 
Avas  adopted.     From  New  England,  the  Freewill 
Baptists   gradually  extended    into    the  West.     No 
doubt  headway  would  have  been  made  in  the  South 
in  the  early  periods  of  the  century,  but  the  founders 
of  the   organization   were   vehemently   opposed    to 
slavery.     This  opposition  found  pronounced  expres- 
sion in  1835,  when  the  general  conference  of  the 
Freewill  Baptists  put  the  stamp  of  condemnation 
upon  African  slavery. 

The  Freewill  Baptist  churches  multiplied  from  the 
beginning.  After  the  lapse  of  half  a  century  they 
had  four  hundred  and  fifty  churches,  with  twenty-one 
thousand  members.  In  1 841  they  united  mth  the 
Free  Communion  Baptists  of  New  York,  and  their 


342  APPENDIX    A 

numbers  were  increased  by  the  addition  of  fifty-five 
churches  and  two  thousand  five  hundred  members. 
Later,  however,  the  Freewill  Baptists  sustained 
losses  by  local  dissensions  through  the  Adventist 
movement.  They  suffered  also  as  a  result  of  the 
war,  as  both  ministers  and  members  largely  enlisted 
in  the  Union  armies.  Having  a  membership  of 
sixty  thousand  in  1845,  they  had  the  same  number 
in  1870.  During  the  intervening  quarter  of  a 
century  the  denomination  had  grown,  and  yet,  by 
varying  fortune,  it  had  lost.  Since  that  time,  its 
numbers  have  gradually  increased  until,  in  1890, 
there  were,  in  the  United  States,  eighty-seven  thou- 
sand eight  hundred  and  ninety-eight  Freewill  Bap- 
tists. As  early  as  1791  women  began  to  labor 
among  this  people  as  preachers.  It  is  a  custom 
with  them  to  grant  ordination  to  such  women  as 
desire  to  serve  as  ministers. 

Freewill  Baptists  hold  that  while  man  cannot,  in 
his  fallen  state,  become  a  child  of  God  by  natural 
goodness  and  personal  effort,  redemption  and  regen- 
eration are  freely  provided  for  him.  This  admits 
of  application  to  every  one,  for  the  "  call  of  the  gos- 
pel is  coextensive  with  the  atonement  to  all  men," 
so  that  salvation  is  "equally  possible  to  all."  They 
insist  that  the  "  truly  regenerate "  are  "  through  in- 
firmity and  manifold  temptations "  in  "  danger  of 
falling,"  and  "ought  therefore  to  watch  and  pray 
lest  they  make  shipwreck  of  faith."  Their  position 
upon  baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper  is  that  they 


OTHER    BAPTIST    FAMILIES  343 

hold  immersion  alone  as  baptism,  and  insist  upon  it 
that  it  is  the  "  privilege  and  duty  of  all  who  have 
spiritual  union  with  Christ "  to  participate  in  the 
observance  of  the  Supper. 

AVitli  emphasis  they  declare  that  "  no  man  has  a 
right  to  forbid  these  tokens  to  the  least  of  his  dis- 
ciples." This  declaration,  of  course,  indicates  that 
the  denomination  advocates  what  is  usually  known 
as  "  open  communion." 

The  Articles  of  Faith  provided  for  the  churches 
declare  that  the  "  human  will  "  is  "  free  and  self- 
determined,  having  power  to  yield  to  gracious  in- 
fluences and  live,  or  resist  them  and  perish."  They 
declare  that  the  doctrine  of  election  is  not  an  "  un- 
conditional decree  "  which  fixes  the  future  state  of 
man,  but  that  it  is  simply  God's  determination 
"  from  the  beginning  to  save  all  who  should  comply 
with  the  conditions  of  salvation." 

The  general  meetings  of  the  Freewill  Baptists  are 
called  conferences.  They  hold  quarterly  and  yearly 
conferences,  and  a  general  Conference,  which  meets 
every  two  years.  These  are  representative  bodies. 
A  quarterly  Conference  represents  a  restricted  terri- 
tory embracing  a  given  number  of  churches.  Its 
functions  are  almost  altogether  advisory. 

The  quarterly  Conference  inquires  into  the  condi- 
tion of  the  churches  and  is  empowered  to  advise,  ad- 
monish, or  withdraw  fellowship  from  them.  It  may 
not,  however,  "  deprive  a  church  of  its  independent 
form  of  government,  nor  its  right  to  discipline  its 


344  APPENDIX   A 

members  nor  labor  with  individual  members  of 
churches  as  such  "  ;  to  deal  with  the  churches  only 
as  churches  and  not  with  individuals,  is  what  is  pro- 
vided for  in  the  polity  of  the  denomination.  The 
quarterly  Conference  selects  delegates  for  the  annual 
Conference.  It  sustains  the  same  relation  to  the 
quarterly  Conference  that  the  quarterly  Conference 
does  to  the  individual  churches.  The  general  Con- 
ference, which  has  the  oversight  of  all  the  interests 
of  the  denomination,  derives  its  delegates  from  the 
annual  Conference.  While  it  has  a  general  over- 
sight of  the  denomination,  its  disciplinary  jurisdic- 
tion is  limited  to  the  yearly  meeting.  It  cannot 
reach  beyond  these  and  interfere  with  the  action 
either  of  the  quarterly  meeting  or  of  the  churches. 
It  is  absolutely  without  power  to  reverse  the  de- 
cisions of  any  of  the  subordinate  bodies.  Candi- 
dates for  the  ministry  derive  licenses,  for  a  year 
only,  from  the  quarterly  meeting.  Ordination  is 
granted  by  a  council  of  the  quarterly  meeting.  The 
church  officers  are  those  of  pastor,  clerk,  and  treas- 
urer, together  with  an  elected  Board  of  deacons  who, 
besides  attending  to  the  temporalities  of  the  church, 
assist  at  baptism,  serve  at  the  Lord's  Supper,  and 
take  charge  of  meetings  during  the  absence  of  the 
pastor.  The  strength  of  the  denomination  is  chiefly 
in  the  North  and  West.  Of  the  States  under  review 
in  this  volume,  the  statistics  are  as  follows  :  Ala- 
bama has  a  membership  of  eight  hundred  and  forty- 
seven  ;  Florida,  a  membership  of  twenty-two  ;  Ken- 


OTHER    BAPTIST    FAMILIES  345 

tucky,  a  membership  of  one  thousand  six  hundred 
and  forty-one ;  Maryland,  a  membership  of  ninety- 
eight  ;  Mississippi,  a  membership  of  one  thousand 
three  hundred  and  thirty-nine ;  North  Carolina,  a 
membership  of  eleven  ;  Tennessee,  a  membership  of 
two  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-four ;  Vir- 
ginia, a  membership  of  four  hundred  and  seventy- 
eight  ;  and  West  Virginia,  a  membership  of  one 
thousand  six  hundred  and  sixty-eight. 

The  Original  Freewill  Baptists. — These 
are  a  remnant  of  the  General  Baptists  who  settled  in 
North  Carolina  in  the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth 
century.  The  territory  in  North  Carolina  occupied 
by  them  lay  contiguous  to  that  which  was  occupied 
by  the  General  Baptists  in  Virginia. 

In  each  of  these  colonies  they  formed  an  Associa- 
tion. In  1787,  the  General  and  Regular  Baptists 
united  upon  a  Calvinistic  basis.  There  were  a  few 
Freewillers  who  did  not  go  into  the  coalition. 
Eventually  they  came  to  be  known  as  Original 
Freewill  Baptists.  Probably  the  term  "  original  " 
carries  with  it  the  idea  that  they  precede,  in  point 
of  time,  the  existence  of  those  who  afterward  came 
to  be  known  as  Freewill  Baptists. 

In  doctrine  they  declare  that  Christ  "  freely  gave 
himself  a  ransom  for  all,  tasting  death  for  every 
man  "  ;  that  God  desires  that  all  come  to  repentance ; 
that  "  all  men,  at  one  time  or  another  are  found  in 
such  capacity  as  that  through  the  grace  of  God  they 


346  APPENDIX    A 

may  be  eternally  saved  "  ;  that  those  "  ordained  to 
condemnation  "  are  only  the  unrighteous  who  refuse 
to  accept  the  gospel  offer  of  salvation ;  that  infants 
who  die  are  not  subject  to  the  second  death ;  that 
God  has  not  decreed  any  person  to  everlasting 
death  or  everlasting  life  out  of  respect  or  mere 
choice,  only  as  he  appoints  "  the  godly  unto  life  and 
the  ungodly  who  die  in  sin  unto  death  "  ;  that  only 
believers  are  to  be  baptized,  and  that  immersion 
alone  is  baptism.  They  also  observe  foot-washing, 
and  anoint  the  sick  with  oil.  Foot-washing  and 
communion  are  observed  every  quarter. 

Conference  for  church  business  is  held  quarterly. 
Every  member  is  allowed  a  voice  in  the  transaction 
of  the  business  of  the  church.  The  officers  of  a 
church  are,  a  pastor,  clerk,  treasurer,  and  deacons 
who  look  after  the  temporal  affairs  and  prepare  for 
quarterly  communion.  Besides  these,  they  have  a 
sort  of  judicial  eldership,  the  members  of  wdiicli 
are  called  "  ruling  elders  "  whose  duty  it  is  to  settle 
controversies.  Discipline  is  theoretically  rigid. 
Members  of  churches  are  not  allowed  to  frequent 
the  "race  track,  the  card  table,  shooting  matches,  or 
any  other  place  of  disorder."  In  the  administration 
of  discipline  it  is  provided  that  "  no  person  of  color 
within  the  pale  of  the  church  shall  give  testimony 
against  any  person  "  (except  one)  "  of  color."  Pro- 
vision is  made  whereby  only  male  members  shall 
hold  office  in  the  church.  Once  a  year  a  general 
conference  is  held  for  settlement  of  church  difficul- 


OTHER    BAPTIST    FAMILIES  347 

ties,  for  the  reception  of  new  churches,  and  for  the 
trial  and  discontinuance  of  elders,  or  pastors.  This 
yearly  conference  is  composed  of  all  the  pastors,  or 
elders,  ministers,  (ordained)  preachers,  (licentiates) 
in  good  standing,  and  of  delegates  chosen  by  the 
churches. 

Besides  the  work  already  named,  this  annual  con- 
ference alone  has  power  to  silence  preachers.  The 
churches  of  the  Original  Freewill  Baptists  are  con- 
fined to  North  and  South  Carolina.  In  the  former, 
there  is  a  membership  of  ten  thousand  two  hundred 
and  twenty-four ;  in  the  latter,  there  is  a  member- 
ship of  one  thousand  six  hundred  and  forty. 

The  General  Baptists. — The  name  of  this 
body  is  meant  to  imply  its  liberality  in  contradis- 
tinction from  the  Particular  or  Regular  Baptists 
who  are  Calvinistic.  The  General  Baptists  are 
Arminian  in  creed.  They  have  eliminated  every 
vestige  of  Calvinism  from  their  articles  of  faith. 

We  find  General  Baptists  in  New  England  at  the 
close  of  the  seventeenth  century.  Near  the  begin- 
ning of  the  century  following  they  organized  them- 
selves into  a  General  Association.  A  little  later,  we 
find  them  establishing  churches  in  Maryland,  Vir- 
ginia, and  the  Carolinas.  A  marked  revolution  was 
effected  in  the  last-named  States  by  the  visits  of 
such  missionaries  as  Gano,  Van  Horn,  Miller,  and 
others.  Under  the  instruction  of  such  men  the 
most  of  them  became  Calvinistic  in  faith. 


348  APPENDIX    A 

During  the  first  quarter  of  the  present  century 
the  drift  of  the  General  Baptists  was  toward  the 
West,  where  they  are  now  concentrated.  The  first 
Association  of  the  General  Baptists  organized  in  the 
West  was  the  Liberty,  of  Kentucky,  in  1824.  They 
adopted  the  practice  of  open  communion  in  1830, 
and  fifteen  years  afterward  so  changed  one  of  their 
articles  of  faith  as  to  embrace  idiots  and  infants  in 
the  covenant  of  grace.  It  seems  that  in  the  creed 
formulated  at  the  constitution  of  the  Liberty  Asso- 
ciation, this  specification  had  been  omitted.  In 
order  to  give  more  emphasis  to  the  tone  of  Armin- 
ianism,  another  article  was  changed  so  as  to  declare 
that  "  he  that  shall  endure  to  the  end  shall  be 
saved"  instead  of  saying,  "the  saints  will  finally 
persevere  from  grace  to  glory."  The  purpose  of 
these  changes  evidently  was  to  wipe  out  from  the 
creed  the  last  vestige  of  Calvinism. 

In  1870  they  formed  a  General  Association  in 
which  all  the  Associations  of  the  general  body  are 
represented.  The  object  of  such  organization  is 
declared  to  be  that  of  bringing  "  into  more  intimate 
and  fraternal  relation  and  effective  co-operation 
various  bodies  of  literal  Baptists." 

So  closely  akin  are  the  General  and  the  Freewill 
Baptists  that  each  readily  receives  into  its  com- 
munion and  fellowship  the  churches  of  the  other. 
The  growth  of  the  General  Baptists,  has  within  the 
last  quarter  of  a  century  been  rapid.  In  1870  they 
numbered  eight  thousand;    ten  years  later,  twelve 


OTHER    BAPTIST    FAMILIES  349 

thousand  three  hundred  and  sixty-seven;  and  ten 
years  later  still,  twenty-one  thousand  three  hundred 
and  sixty-two. 

They  are  scattered  through  the  States  of  Indiana, 
Illinois,  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Missouri,  Arkansas, 
and  Nebraska.  One  fails  to  discover  but  slight 
diiference  between  the  General  Baptists  and  the 
Freewill  Baptists  from  a  comparison  of  the  Con- 
fessions of  Faith.  They  hold  that  the  Bible  is  the 
only  rule  of  faith  and  practice;  that  there  is  one 
God,  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost ;  that  man 
is  "fallen  and  depraved,"  and  is  totally  unable  to 
save  himself;  that  he  that  endures  to  the  end  shall 
be  saved  ;  that  reward  and  punishment  are  eternal ; 
that  immersion  alone  is  baptism ;  that  only  believers 
are  proper  subjects  of  baptism ;  that  none  can  share 
in  the  benefits  of  the  atonement,  though  made  for 
all,  except  through  repentance  and  faith,  save  idiots 
and  infants  only. 

In  Kentucky  the  General  Baptists  have  four 
thousand  four  hundred  and  fifty-five  members  ;  in 
Tennessee,  one  thousand  and  eight  members. 

The  United  Baptists. — This  is  a  small  body 
of  communicants  who  retain  the  designation  as- 
sumed when  the  Separate  and  Regular  Baptists 
were  united  in  Virginia,  Kentucky,  and  elsewhere. 
But  there  was  such  general  concession  to  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  Regular  Baptists,  that  the  sections  thus 
combined  were  eventually  called  Regular  Baptists. 


350  APPENDIX    A 

Later,  they  were  additionally  called  Missionary 
Baptists  to  distinguish  them  from  the  Anti-mission- 
ary. Some  have  persisted  in  clinging  to  the  name 
United  Baptists  and  have  preserved  a  continual  ex- 
istence in  that  way. 

An  additional  reason  for  their  independent  exist- 
ence is  found  in  the  fact  that  in  Kentucky  the  fu- 
sion of  the  Separates  and  Regulars  was  not  upon  a 
purely  Calvinistic  basis.  While  in  their  doctrinal 
platform  they  did  declare  the  final  perseverance  of 
the  saints,  they  did  not  distinctly  set  forth  election 
or  reprobation.  However,  the  fusionists  did  stipu- 
late that  the  doctrine  of  a  general  atonement,  as  de- 
clared in  the  fact  that  "Christ  did  taste  death  for 
every  man,"  should  be  "  no  bar  to  communion." 

As  a  distinct  denomination  the  United  Baptists 
are  moderate  Calvinists.  They  hold  that  Christ 
"  suffered  and  died  to  make  atonement  for  sin,"  but 
do  not  say  whether  this  atonement  was  general  or 
particular.  They  further  declare  that  though  the 
gospel  is  to  be  preached  to  all  nations,  and  men 
everywhere  are  to  be  urged  to  repentance,  such  is 
their  opposition  to  the  gospel  that  they  deliberately 
and  voluntarily  choose  a  state  of  sin. 

They  further  insist  that  God  in  his  "  mere  good 
pleasure"  elected  or  chose  in  Christ  a  great  mul- 
titude among  all  nations,  and  that  through  the 
operation  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  God  "  effectually  calls 
them "  and  they  "  freely  choose  Christ  for  their 
Saviour."     They  urge  that  those  who  are  united  to 


OTHER    BAPTIST    FAMILIES  351 

God  by  a  living  faith  are  forgiven  and  justified 
"  solely  on  account  of  the  merits  of  Christ,"  and 
that  those  who  are  justified  and  regenerated  will 
persevere  to  the  end.  On  the  subject  of  baptism 
their  views  are  in  common  with  all  other  Baptists — 
immersion  of  believers  only.  Concerning  the  Lord's 
Supper  they  claim  that  it  should  be  "  observed  by 
those  who  have  been  regenerated,  regularly  bap- 
tized, and  become  members  of  a  gospel  church." 
They  also  hold  to  the  observance  of  washing  the 
saints'  feet. 

The  United  Baptists  are  found  in  Alabama,  Ar- 
kansas, Kentucky,  Missouri,  and  Tennessee.  There 
are  in  Alabama  seven  hundred  and  two  members ; 
in  Kentucky,  six  thousand  four  hundred  and  forty- 
three  members ;  and  in  Tennessee,  three  thousand 
one  hundred  and  eighty  members. 

The  Baptist  Church  of  Christ. — This  is  a 
small  body,  the  majority  of  the  members  of  which 
are  to  be  found  in  Tennessee.  The  first  two  Asso- 
ciations of  the  Baptist  Church  of  Christ  were  the 
Elk  River  and  the  Duck  River,  both  of  which  were 
organized  in  Tennessee  in  1808.  They  assert  that 
they  are  the  oldest  body  of  Baptists,  and  that  no 
others  existed  in  Tennessee  until  1825,  "when  the 
Two-Seed  churches  came  into  existence  as  the  result 
of  what  is  know  as  the  Antinomian  Controversy." 

The  Articles  of  Faith  of  the  Baptist  Church  of 
Christ  are  conservative  in  tone.     They  hold  that 


352  APPENDIX   A 

"  Christ  tasted  death  for  every  man/'  and  so  con- 
ditioned the  means  of  grace  as  to  make  it  possible 
for  God  to  exercise  mercy  toward  all  who  come  unto 
him  on  the  terms  of  the  gospel ;  that  justification  is 
by  faith  ;  that  saints  will  persevere.  They  agree 
with  the  entire  Baptist  brotherhood  upon  the  sub- 
ject of  immersion,  and  believer's  baptism.  They 
insist  upon  three  ordinances — baptism,  the  Lord's 
Supper,  and  washing  the  feet  of  the  saints.  These 
are  to  be  observed  until  the  second  coming  of 
Christ.  A  few  members  of  this  body  are  to  be  met 
with  in  the  States  of  Alabama,  Arkansas,  Missis- 
sippi, Missouri,  North  Carolina,  Tennessee,  and 
Texas.  In  Alabama  there  are  seven  hundred  and 
eighty-two  members ;  in  Mississippi,  three  hundred 
and  sixty-eight  members ;  in  North  Carolina,  six 
hundred  and  fifty-nine  members  ;  and  in  Tennessee, 
five  thousand  and  sixty-five  members. 

The  Anti-Mission  Baptists. — This  body  of 
Baptists  is  known  by  a  variety  of  names,  such  as 
"Primitive,"  -''Old  School,"  "Anti-Mission,"  and 
"  Hard  Shell."  Their  tenets  are  characterized  by 
narrowness  and  rigidity.  They  owe  their  existence 
as  a  distinct  body,  to  their  pronounced  opposition, 
begun  more  than  fifty  years  ago,  to  missions,  Sun- 
day-schools, Bible  societies,  and  all  similar  institu- 
tions. They  denounce  them  as  human  institutions, 
modern  innovations,  as  unauthorized  by  the  Scrip- 
tures, and  unnecessary. 


OTHER    BAPTIST    FAMILIES  353 

The  severance  of  the  anti-effort  Baptists  from  the 
missionary  organizations  was  a  gradual  process.  It 
found  open  expression  in  the  Chemung  Association, 
the  churches  of  which  were  partly  in  New  York 
and  partly  in  Pennsylvania,  as  early  as  1835.  It 
adopted  a  resolution  insisting  that  as  associational 
bodies  with  which  it  had  been  in  correspondence 
had  "departed  from  the  simplicity  of  the  doctrine 
and  practice  of  the  gospel  of  Christ,  uniting  with 
the  world  and  what  are  falsely  called  benevolent 
societies,  founded  upon  a  monied  basis,"  and  en- 
gaged in  preaching  a  gospel  "differing  from  the 
gospel  of  Christ,"  it  declined  further  fellowship 
with  them.  It  followed  up  this  declaration  with  an 
earnest  appeal  to  all  Baptists  who  did  not  approve 
these  innovations  to  withdraw  from  those  hold- 
ing them.  A  year  later  this  was  followed  by  a 
similar  protest  from  the  Baltimore  Association  of 
Maryland. 

Set  over  against  these  deliverances  was  a  declara- 
tion from  the  Warwick  Association,  New  York,  in 
1840.  By  this  time  the  battle  was  waxing  hot,  as 
the  tenor  of  the  Warwick  declaration  shows.  Ex- 
pressing itself  in  a  circular  letter,  the  Warwick 
Association,  in  opposition  to  the  Anti-missionary 
element,  charges  them  with  entertaining  hyper- 
Calvinistic  doctrines,  and  insists  that  such  views  of 
predestination  as  they  held  practically  relieved  man 
of  any  responsibility  for  his  conduct  or  condition. 
It  charges  upon  them  that  they  insist  that  God  ex- 


354  APPENDIX    A 

ecutes  his  plans  "  without  the  least  instrumentality 
whatever/'  and  that  "  all  the  preaching  from  John 
the  Baptist  until  now,  if  made  to  bear  on  one  unre- 
generated  sinner "  could  not  "  quicken  his  poor, 
dead  soul." 

What  was  taking  place  in  the  East  at  this  time 
was  also  taking  place  in  the  West  and  South.  The 
separation  was  finally  brought  about  by  the  with- 
drawal of  the  Anti-mission  elements  of  the  denom- 
ination. No  objection  exists  on  the  part  of  the 
Anti-mission  forces  to  the  preaching  of  the  gospel, 
but  they  stoutly  hold  that  God  will  convert  the 
world  in  his  own  way,  and  in  his  own  good  time, 
independent  of  human  agency. 

It  has  been  popularly  supposed  that  the  inaction 
which  such  views  necessarily  engender,  is  leading 
to  a  gradual  extinction  of  this  people.  This  is 
corroborated  by  the  fact  that  the  masses  of  the 
Anti-mission  Baptists  being  illiterate,  attach  no 
importance  to  denominational  statistics.  But  the 
supposition  of  their  gradual  disappearance  is  erro- 
neous. They  are  endowed  with  amazing  vitality. 
We  are  indebted  to  the  national  census  for  the  in- 
formation, which  we  possibly  would  not  othenvise 
have,  concerning  this  peculiar  peoj)le.  In  his  ad- 
mirable work,  "  The  Religious  Forces  of  the  United 
States,"  in  the  American  Church  History  Series, 
Dr.  H.  K.  Carroll  conclusively  shows  that  if  past 
statistics  concerning  this  people  are  correct,  the 
census  of  1890  exhibits  a  remarkable  increase. 


OTHER    BAPTIST    FAMILIES  355 

In  their  Articles  of  Faith  the  Anti-mission  Bap- 
tists declare  that  by  the  fall  of  Adam  "  all  his  pos- 
terity become  sinners  in  the  sight  of  God " ;  that 
the  "  corruption  of  human  nature "  prevents  man 
by  the  exercise  of  his  own  will  and  ability  from  re- 
instating "himself  in  the  favor  of  God" ;  that  "God 
elected,  or  chose,  his  people  in  Christ  before  the 
foundation  of  the  world";  "that  sinners  are  justi- 
fied only  by  the  righteousness  of  Christ  imparted  to 
them";  that  the  saints  will  finally  persevere  and 
"  not  one  of  them  will  ever  be  finally  lost" ;  that 
baptism,  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  washing  the  saints' 
feet,  are  ordinances  of  the  gospel,  and  should  be  con- 
tinued until  Christ's  second  coming ;  that  "  the  in- 
stitutions of  the  day  are  works  of  man "  ;  and  that  it 
is  "  wrong  to  join  them."  They  further  insist  that 
no  fellowship  should  be  had  with  churches  which 
fiivor  these  human  agencies.  Indeed  an  article  of 
the  constitution  declines  fellowship  with  any  church 
or  churches  which  support  any  "  missionary,  Bible, 
tract,  or  Sunday-school  union  society,  or  advocates 
State  Conventions,  or  theological  schools,"  or  "  any 
other  society  formed  under  the  pretense  of  circu- 
lating the  gospel  of  Christ." 

As  may  be  readily  judged  from  the  foregoing,  the 
Anti-mission  Baptists  have  no  State  Conventions  or 
theological  seminaries.  They  vehemently  oppose  the 
preparation  of  their  ministry  for  more  effectively 
preaching  the  gospel.  They  are  one  with  all  Bap- 
tists respecting  immersion  and    the    precedence  of 


356  APPENDIX    A 

faith  to  baptism,  and  that  this  is  a  prerequisite  to 
the  Lord's  Supper.  They  further  contend  that  no 
minister  has  authority  to  administer  the  ordinances 
unless  he  has  been  "  called  of  God/'  "  come  under 
the  imposition  of  hands  by  a  presbytery,"  and  is 
"in  fellowship  with  the  church  of  which  he  is  a 
member." 

The  denomination  is  distributed  through  twenty- 
eight  States.  It  is  strongest  in  Georgia,  Alabama, 
Tennessee,  North  Carolina,  and  Kentucky.  It  has 
disappeared  from  almost  every  Northern  State 
except  Indiana  and  Illinois.  The  denomination 
aggregates  one  hundred  and  twenty-one  thousand 
three  hundred  and  forty-seven.^ 

The  Two-Seed-in-the-Spirit  Predestinarian 
Baptists. — This  is  the  most  peculiar  and  distinctive 
of  all  the  bodies  called  Baptist.  They  hold  no  fel- 
lowship with  any  other  body  of  that  name.  They 
entertain  the  most  extreme  views  upon  the  subject 
of  Calvinism,  giving  great  emphasis  to  the  doctrine 
of  predestination,  as  their  name  indicates.  Their 
conception  of  good   and   evil   is  expressed  by  the 

^  Of  the  Anti-mission  Baptists  there  are  in  Alabama  a  mem- 
bership of  14,903;  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  a  membership  of 
34;  in  Florida,  a  membership  of  1,997;  in  Georgia,  a  member- 
ship of  18,535 ;  in  Kentucky,  a  membership  of  10,605 ;  in  Mary- 
land, a  membership  of  373 ;  in  Mississippi,  a  membership  of 
3,259;  in  North  Carolina,  a  membership  of  11,740;  in  South  Car- 
olina, a  membership  of  531  ;  in  Tennessee,  a  membership  of  13,- 
972 ;  in  Virginia,  a  membership  of  9,950 ;  in  West  Virginia,  a 
membership  of  2,777. 


OTHEE    BAPTIST    FAMILIES  357 

phrase  "Two  seed."  One  of  these  represents  good, 
and  the  other,  evil.  Daniel  Parker,  of  Virginia, 
is  regarded  the  founder  of  this  branch.  In  1826 
he  published  a  pamphlet  in  which  were  embodied 
the  doctrines  of  this  denomination.  In  1829  an- 
other pamphlet  appeared  from  his  pen,  entitled 
"  Second  Dose  of  the  Doctrine  of  Two  Seeds." 

The  following  is  supposed  to  embody  the  views 
held  by  the  Old  Two-Seed-in-the-Spirit  Predesti- 
narian  Baptists. 

The  essence  of  good  is  God  ;  the  essence  of  evil  is  the 
devil.  Good  angels  are  emanations  from,  or  particles 
of,  God  ;  evil  angels  are  particles  of  the  devil.  When 
God  created  Adam  and  Eve,  they  were  endowed  with  an 
emanation  from  himself,  or  particles  of  God  were  in- 
cluded in  their  constitution.  They  were  wholly  good. 
Satan,  however,  infused  into  them  particles  of  his  es- 
sence, by  which  they  were  corrupted.  In  the  beginning, 
God  had  appointed  that  Eve  should  bring  forth  only  a 
certain  number  of  offspring  ;  the  same  provision  applied 
to  each  of  her  daughters.  But  when  the  particles  of 
evil  essence  had  been  infused  by  Satan,  the  conception 
of  Eve  and  her  daughters  was  increased.  They  were 
now  required  to  bear  the  original  number,  who  were 
styled  the  seed  of  God,  and  an  additional  number  who 
were  called  the  seed  of  the  serpent.  The  seed  of  God 
constituted  a  part  of  the  body  of  Christ.  For  them  the 
atonement  was  absolute  ;  they  would  all  be  saved.  The 
seed  of  the  serpent  did  not  partake  of  the  benefits  of 
the  atonement  and  would  all  be  lost.  All  the  manifesta- 
tions of  good  or  evil  in  men  are  but  displays  of  the  es- 
sence that  had  been  infused  into  them .  The  Christian 
warfare  is  a  conflict  between  these  essences. 


358  APPENDIX    A 

This  body  is  known  by  other  names  than  the  one 
already  given.  Some  of  the  representatives  call 
themselves  "  Regular,"  others  are  called  "  Regular 
Predestinarian,"  still  others  designate  themselves, 
"  Regular  Two-Seed  Predestinarian  Primitive  Bap- 
tists." The  Articles  of  Faith  held  by  these  dif- 
ferent divisions  vary  somewhat.  One  set  de- 
clares that  God  is  the  Creator  of  all  things  and 
governs  all  things  in  righteousness ;  that  man  was 
created  holy,  but  by  reason  of  sin  fell,  and  became 
corrupted,  from  which  corruption  he  was  unable  to 
recover  himself;  that  the  elect  were  chosen  in 
Christ  before  the  world  began,  and  "appointed  to 
faith  and  obedience  in  love  "  by  the  Spirit  of  God 
because  of  the  "  righteousness,  life,  death,  resurrec- 
tion, and  ascension"  of  Christ;  that  God's  elect 
will,  in  due  time,  be  effectually  called  and  regener- 
ated, the  righteousness  of  God  being  imputed  to 
them ;  that  they  will  never  finally  fall  away  ;  that 
good  works  are  the  fruits  of  faith  and  grace  in  the 
heart,  and  follow  regeneration  ;  that  ministers 
should  receive  "  legal  authority "  through  the  im- 
position of  hands  of  the  presbytery  acting  for  a 
gospel  church,  and  should  be  subject  to  the  disci- 
pline of  the  church ;  that  the  "  eternal  work  of  the 
Holy  Spirit "  is  manifested  externally  as  well  as  in- 
ternally, in  experimental  religion  and  the  call  to 
the  ministry,  and  the  true  church  should  distinguish 
itself  from  all  "  false  sects  "  and  have  no  fellowship 
with  them ;  that  the  church  is  a  spiritual  kingdom 


OTHER    BAPTIST    FAMILIES  359 

which  men  in  a  state  of  nature  cannot  see,  and  it 
should  therefore  receive  as  members  only  those  who 
have  hope  in  Christ  and  experimental  knowledge 
of  salvation ;  that  the  ceremony  of  footwashing 
ought  to  be  observed,  and  that  the  joys  of  the 
righteous  and  the  punishment  of  the  wicked  will 
be  endless. 

We  have  said  that  the  Two-Seed  Predestinarian 
Baptists  are  unlike  all  others.  They  seem  more 
nearly  to  approximate  the  Anti-mission  Baptists  in 
the  doctrine  of  predestination,  and  yet  they  diifer 
from  them  in  that  which  seems  to  bring  them  more 
nearly  together. 

The  Two-Seed  Predestinarian  Baptists  hold  that 
God  predestined  all  his  children  to  eternal  life,  and 
the  devil  and  all  his  spiritual  children  to  the  eternal 
kingdom  of  darkness ;  that  he  foreordained  all 
events  whatever,  from  the  creation  to  the  consum- 
mation of  all  things,  not  suifering,  in  his  infinite 
wisdom  and  perfect  knowledge  anything  to  occur  to 
change  his  plans.  The  Anti-mission  Baptists  do 
not  go  so  far.  They  hold  that  while  God  predesti- 
nated some  to  eternal  life,  his  predestination  did 
not  extend  absolutely  to  all  things,  for  this  doctrine 
would,  they  insist,  blasphemously  impute  to  the 
Almighty  the  existence  of  evil  and  do  away  with 
sin  and  human  accountability.  Among  the  claims 
of  the  Old  Two-Seed  Baptists  is  that  of  including 
Waldo,  Calvin,  Bunyan,  Wycliffe,  and  Knox  as 
"  elders "  who   held    the   views   of   the   Two-seed 


360  APPENDIX    A 

doctrine.  They  regard  Arminius  as  a  perverter 
and  corrupter  of  the  faith.  Generally  the  Two- 
seed  Baptists  are  opposed  to  a  salaried  ministry. 
Their  interpretation  of  the  all-sufficiency  of  Christ 
is  that  human  agency  is  not  needed  to  eifect  the  re- 
demption of  men.  They  are  purely  antinomian  in 
belief.  Their  idea  of  the  function  of  the  ministry 
is  that  of  comforting  Zion,  feeding  the  flock,  and 
contending  earnestly  for  the  faith  once  delivered  to 
the  saints. 

They  agree  fully  with  the  Anti-mission  Baptists 
in  their  opposition  to  "  modern  institutions/'  by 
which  are  meant  Sunday-schools,  theological  semi- 
naries, Bible  societies,  missionary  Boards,  as  w^ell  as 
missionary  endeavor.  They  are  scattered  through 
twenty-four  States  of  the  Union,  but  are  strongest 
in  the  South.  The  States  in  which  they  are  most 
numerous  are  Texas,  Tennessee,  Kentucky,  Missis- 
sippi, and  Arkansas.^ 

1  In  the  States  represented  in  the  group,  the  history  of  which 
is  considered  in  this  volume,  they  are  numbered  as  follows : 
Alabama  has  538  members ;  Florida,  39  members ;  Georgia,  330 
members ;  Kentucky,  2,401  members ;  Mississippi,  840  members ; 
North  Carolina,  183  members ;  Tennessee,  1,270  members ;  Vir- 
•ginia,  142  members ;  and  West  Virginia,  806  members. 


APPENDIX  B 


INSTITUTIONS   FOR   WOMEN   AND   VALUE   OF 
PROPERTIES 


Hollins  Institute,  founded  in  1842 ;  located  at  Botetourt 
Springs;  Charles  L.  Cocke,  a.  m.,  president;  value  of  property, 
$150,000 ;  value  of  library  and  apparatus,  $2,500. 

Roanoke  Female  College,  founded  1859 ;  located  at  Danville ; 
C.  F.  James,  d.  d.,  president;  value  of  property,  $25,000;  value 
of  library  and  apparatus,  $1,500;  number  of  volumes  in  library, 
1,000. 

Southside  Female  Institute,  founded  1888 ;  located  at  Burke- 
ville;  Rev.  R.  W.  Cridlin,  president;  value  of  property,  $15,000 ; 
value  of  library  and  apparatus,  $2,000 ;  number  of  volumes  in 
library,  1,200. 

Southwest  Virginia  Institute,  founded  1884 ;  located  at  Bristol ; 
Samuel  D.  Jones,  b.  l.,  president;  value  of  property,  $150,000; 
amount  of  endowment,  $7,500 ;  value  of  library  and  apparatus, 
$1,000 ;  number  of  volumes  in  library,  712. 

Woman's  College,  founded  1854  ;  located  at  Richmond  ;  value 
of  property,  $65,000 ;  number  of  volumes  in  library,  400. 

NORTH   CAROLINA. 

Chowan  Female  Institute,  founded  1848 ;  located  at  Murfrees- 
boro ;  value  of  property,  $50,000. 

SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

Cooper- Limestone  Institute,  founded  1880 ;  located  at  Gaffney 
City;  H.  P.  Griffith,  president;  value  of  property,  $.50,000; 
value  of  library  and  apparatus,  $2,000 ;  number  of  volumes  in 
library,  250. 

Greenville  Female  College,  founded  1854 ;  located  at  Green- 
ville; Rev.  M.  M.  Riley,  d.  d.,  president;  value  of  property, 
$20,000 ;  value  of  library  and  apparatus,  $500. 

361 


362  APPENDIX    B 


Monroe  Female  College,  founded  1840 ;  located  at  Forsyth ; 
value  of  property,  $15,000 ;  value  of  library  and  apparatus,  $600. 

Shorter  College,  founded  1880 ;  located  at  Kome  ;  A.  J.  Battle, 
D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  president;  value  of  property,  $130,000;  amount  of 
endowment,  $45,000 ;  value  of  library  and  apparatus,  $3,000 ; 
number  of  volumes  in  library,  1,500. 

Southern  Female  College,  founded  1843 ;  located  at  La  Grange  ; 
G.  A.  Nunnelly,  d.  d.,  president.  This  school  has  been  located 
in  the  town  of  La  Grange  for  fifty-two  j^ears.  For  many  years 
it  was  conducted  by  Prof.  I.  F.  Cox,  a.  m.,  who  had  control  of  the 
institution  from  1857  to  1887,  at  which  date  he  died.  He  was 
worthily  succeeded  by  his  son,  Prof.  C.  C.  Cox,  who  conducted 
the  school  with  signal  success  until  1895,  when  he  removed  with 
his  faculty  and  outfit  to  the  handsome  college  building  at  College 
Park,  near  Atlanta.  The  new  institution  is  known  as  Cox  College. 
It  is  a  magnificent  structure  and  handsomely  equipped. 

KENTUCKY. 

Bethel  Female  College,  founded  1854 ;  located  at  Hopkinsville ; 
Rev.  T.  S.  McCall,  a.  m.,  president;  value  of  property,  $30,000; 
value  of  library  and  apparatus,  $1,000;  number  of  volumes  in 
library,  1,000. 

TENNESSEE. 

Boscobel,  founded  1889 ;  located  at  Nashville  ;  J.  G.  Patey,  a.  b., 
president ;  value  of  property,  $75,000 ;  value  of  library  and  ap- 
paratus, $1,500 ;  number  of  volumes  in  library,  1,000. 

Brownsville  Female  College,  founded  1851 ;  located  at  Browns- 
ville; value  of  property,  $20,000;  value  of  library  and  appa- 
ratus, $500. 

Sweetwater  Seminary,  founded  1886 ;  located  at  Sweetwater ; 
William  Shelton  d.  d.,  ll.  d.,  president;  value  of  property, 
$20,000 ;  value  of  library  and  apparatus,  $2,000 ;  number  of  vol- 
umes in  library,  500. 

ALABAMA. 

Judson  Institute,  founded  1839 ;  located  at  Marion ;  S.  W. 
Averett,  ll.  d.,  president;  value  of  property,  $61,000  ;  amount  of 
endowment,  $540 ;  value  of  library  and  apparatus,  $20,000 : 
number  of  volumes  in  library,  1,400. 

MISSISSIPPI. 

Blue  Mountain  Female  College,  founded  1873  ;  located  at  Blue 
Mountain;   W.  T.  Lowry,  d.  d.,  president;   value  of  property, 


INSTITUTIONS    FOR    WOMEN  363 

$25,000 ;  value  of  library  and  apparatus,  $5,000 ;  number  of  vol- 
umes in  library,  1,500. 

Hillman  College,  founded  1853 ;  located  at  Clinton ;  Walter 
Hillman,  d.  d.,  president;  value  of  property,  $30,000;  value  of 
library  and  apparatus,  $3,000 ;  total  value  of  property,  $33,000. 

In  addition  to  these,  there  are  many  schools  of  a  minor  grade 
such  as  academies,  institutes,  and  seminaries  under  the  care  of 
the  denominational  local  bodies  in  all  the  States  of  the  South. 


INDEX 


Alabama :  first  Baptist  settlements 
in,  46  ;  first  church  organized  in, 
47 ;  denominational  education 
in,  155;  Judson  Inst,  in,  362; 
anti-missionary  spirit  in,  70, 195 ; 
evangelistic  effort  in,  196;  Con- 
vention organized,  196;  early 
leaders,  196;  "  Resolutions,"  203, 
201 ;  deliverance  upon  slavery, 
205;  "Resolutions"  discussed, 
206,  207. 

Alamance,  germ  of  Revolution,  80. 

Alexandria,  Va.,  163. 

Anti-missionary  Baptists :  their 
spirit,  168 ;  factious  opposition 
of,  169,  170  ;  assumptions  among, 
1G9 ;  prevalence  of,  accounted 
for,  172 ;  unprogressiveness  of, 
173. 

Anti-mission  Baptists,  The,  352-356. 

"Apostolic  succession,"  views  on, 
held,  177. 

Arminianism :  Churches  infected 
with,  19 ;  prevalence  of,  in  Ken- 
tucky, 37;  advocates  of,  cause 
trouble,  127. 

Asplund's  Register,  39. 

Ashley  River,  14. 

Association :  Baltimore,  consti- 
tuted, 189 ;  anti-missionism  of, 
189 ;  Charleston,  raises  an  edu- 
cational fund,  135;  Concord, 
Tenn.,  formed,  121 ;  Cumberland, 
formed,  121:  Edgefield,  men- 
tioned, 138  ;  Elk  River,  formed, 
121 ;  Georgia,  124  ;  Green  Brier, 
49  ;  Hepzibah,  Ga.,  124  ;  Holston, 
Tenn.,  formed,    39,  119;    Mero, 


112;  Philadelphia,  17,  19;  Red 
River,  Tenn.,  formed,  121 ;  Sandy 
Creek,  N.  C,  39,  85 ;  Sarepta,  Ga., 
124,  144  ;  Savannah  River,  138. 

Averett,  S.  W.,  ll.  d.,  362. 

Axtell,  Lady,  10. 

Bailey,  Prof.  W.  E.,  140. 

Baltimore,  First  Church  of,  or- 
ganized, 21. 

Baptists :  General  laxness  of,  in 
North  Carolina,  24, 161 ;  churches 
of,  few  in  number,  110 ;  heroism 
and  influence  of  their  ministry, 
110,  127;  uneducated  ministry 
among,  131 ;  better  equipment 
provided  for,  133 ;  Particular, 
165,  166 ;  found  most  in  rural  dis- 
tricts, 222;  rivalry  between,  and 
Methodists,  266;  robust  culture 
of,  268 ;  Anti-Missionar\%  opposed 
to  Sunday-schools,  270  ;  in  North 
Carolina  advocating  Sunday- 
schools,  271 ;  entering  Louisiana, 
44 ;  of  Mississippi  reporting  on, 
271,  272;  attitude  of,  in  Ken- 
tucky toward  Sunday-schools, 
273,  274 ;  denouncing  undenomi- 
national literature,  274,  275  ;  ad- 
dress to,  concerning  Sunday- 
school  Board,  278 ;  chief  jour- 
nals of,  285-293 ;  colored,.  310- 
328 ;  principles  advocated  by, 
now  fundamental  law,  329 ; 
growth  of,  330 ;  missionary  spirit 
among,  330;  illiteracj'  among, 
331 ;  institutions  of  learning 
among,  331,  332 ;  appreciating 
365 


366 


INDEX 


press,  332 ;  elements  of  success 
among,  332;  chief  source  of 
strength  among,  332,  333 ;  dan- 
gers to  be  encountered  by,  333- 
336;  the  future  of,  334;  the 
story  of,  335  ;  counsel  for,  336 ; 
The  Seventh  Day,  338-340;  The 
Free  Will,  340-345  ;  The  Original 
Free  Will,  345-347  ;  The  General, 
347-349 ;  The  United,  349-351  ; 
The  Anti-Mission,  352-356;  The 
Two-Seed-in-the-Spirit  Predesti- 
narian,  356-360. 

Baptists,  The  Colored  :  beginning 
of  their  history,  312,  313 ;  work 
of  Bryan  among,  313,  314 ;  Lot 
Cary  one  of  the  most  notable  of, 
315,  316 ;  numerical  increase  of, 
317,  318 ;  churches  of,  having 
white  pastors,  319 ;  representa- 
tives of,  sent  as  missionaries  by 
Southern  Convention,  321 ;  sta- 
tistics of,  321,  322  ;  withdrawing 
from  whites,  323 ;  commendable 
progress  of,  323 ;  organization 
of  Convention  among,  324,  325 ; 
scholars  among,  324,  325  :  schools 
possessed  by,  ,325,  326;  periodi- 
cals owned  by,  327 ;  meetings 
among,  327,  328;  great  number 
of,  328. 

Baptist  Church  of  Christ,  The,  351, 
352. 

Baptist :  The  Tennessee,  288 ;  The 
Southern,  289. 

Battle,  Dr.  Cullen,  liberality  of, 
145. 

Bestor,  D.  P.,  Dr. :  mentioned,  155 ; 
declines  secretaryship  of  Domes. 
Miss.  Board,  223. 

Blair,  Hon.  Jno.,  letter  from,  60,  61. 

Blake,  Humphrey,  9,  13. 

Blake,  Joseph,  10,  68. 

Board  of  Domestic  Missions :  lo- 
cated at  Marion,  Ala.,  219;  diffi- 
culties of,  220;    removal  of,  to 


Atlanta,  224;  zeal  and  activity 
of,  224-226 ;  assumes  care  of 
work  among  Indians,  225 ;  work 
of,  depressed,  226,  227  ;  work  of. 
among  Southern  armies,  225, 226  ; 
its  distinguished  evangelists, 
226 ;  agency  of,  in  creating  State 
Boards,  226;  name  of,  changed, 
226 ;  Cuba  included  in  its  work, 
229 ;  buys  Havana  theatre,  229. 

Board,  Bible,  organized,  239. 

Board,  Foreign  Mission:  located 
at  Richmond,  219;  dependence 
of,  on  Board  of  Domestic  Mis- 
sions, 221  ;  mission  journal  estab- 
lished by,  2;i0;  difficulties  en- 
countered by,  230,  231 ;  mission- 
aries sent  by,  231,  233  ;  points  oc- 
cupied by,  231,  232;  stations  es- 
tablished by,  up  to  1863,  233; 
operations  of,  hindered  by 
cholera,  234 ;  enlargement  for, 
234  ;  most  fruitful  department  of, 
236  ;  journal  issued  by,  292. 

Boards,  Southern  Convention : 
men  chosen  as  officials  of,  223 ; 
contributions  to,  224 ;  new 
churches  established  by,  225 ; 
contributions  of  Sunday-school 
Board  to,  240. 

Board,  Sunday-school :  organized 
and  revived,  239;  headquarters 
of,  240 ;  contributions  of,  to  other 
Boards,  240;  literature  of,  240; 
receipts  of,  240;  made  Sunday- 
school  and  Publication  Board, 
278;  employing  Dr.  Broadus  as 
secretary,  278  ;  crippled  by  war, 
279 ;  literature  issued  by,  279 ; 
Bibles  to,  from  American  Bible 
Society,  280 ;  active  missionaries 
of,  280 ;  cessation  and  resumption 
of  work  by,  281 ;  its  wrestle  for 
life,  282  ;  Dr.  Bitting  appointed 
secretary  of,  282  ;  removed  from 
Greenville,  283 ;    help  to,  from 


INDEX 


367 


American  Baptist  Publication 
Society,  283  ;  merged  in  Domestic 
Mission  Board,  284. 

Boone,  Daniel,  33. 

Boston,  first  church  of,  12. 

Bostwick,  J.  A.,  gifts  of,  148. 

Botsford,  Rev.  E. :  mentioned,  29  ; 
work  of,  in  Georgia,  122,  135. 

Boyce,  Dr.  J.  P. :  originating  plan 
for  theological  seminary,  246 ; 
executive  skill  of,  248;  guiding 
hand  of,  251 ;  chaplain  in  Con- 
federate army,  253 ;  devising 
plans  for  seminary  buildings, 
259;  struggles  of,  for  seminary, 
260-262;  death  of,  262;  career 
and  character  of,  263. 

Brantley,  W.  T.,  Sr.,  143. 

Brazil :  effort  to  found  mission  in, 
232  ;  mission  abandoned  and  re- 
sumed, 236. 

Broaddus,  Rev.  Andrew,  declines 
call  to  city  churches,  222. 

Broaddus,  Rev.  W.  F.,  149,  162. 

Broad  us.  Dr.  John  A. :  writing 
from  Rome,  235 ;  one  of  com- 
mittee on  theological  seminary, 
249 ;  one  of  the  professors  in 
theological  seminary,  252;  em- 
ployment of,  during  war,  253; 
giving  instruction  to  one  stu- 
dent, 255 ;  going  North  for  semi- 
nary, 259;  becoming  president 
of  the  seminary,  263 ;  death  of, 
264. 

Bryan,  Rev.  Andrew,  313,  314. 

Burma,  161. 

Calvinistic  Methodists,  166. 

Campbell,  Alex. :  opposes  mis- 
sions, 174;  edits  the  "Christian 
Baptist,"'  174;  begins  a  notable 
career,  174  ;  shrewd  debater,  174  ; 
conditions  favoring  his  advent, 
175  ;  forms  a  new  sect,  175  ;  dis- 
rupts churches,  175, 176 ;  follow- 


ers of,  called  "  Disciples  "  and 
Campbellites,  175, 176;  character 
of  his  followers,  176  ;  contributes 
to  anti-pedobaptism  and  immer- 
sion, 177 ;  distraction  occasioned 
by,  188. 

Camp-meeting,  early,  described, 
118. 

Cardross,  Lord,  13. 

Carroll,  Dr.  H.  K.,  110. 

Carson,  Hon.  J.  H.,  154. 

Cary,  Rev.  Lot,  315-317. 

Chaplin,  Prof.  Jere,  Jr.,  141. 

Chapman,  Wm.,  12. 

Charleston:  First  Church  in,  11; 
population  of,  in  1700, 13  ;  serious 
blunder  of  Baptists  in,  67, 

Chenault,  Mr.  D.  A.,  bequeath- 
ing fifteen  thousand  dollars  to 
Southern  Seminary,  262. 

China :  missionaries  appointed 
to,  231 ;  dismal  period  for  mis- 
sion in,  234  ;  mission  in,  hindered 
by  war,  234. 

"Christian  Index,"  144. 

Churches :  Baton  Rouge,  La.,  45 ; 
Buckhead  Creek,  Ga.,  123 ;  Ce- 
dar Creek,  Ky.,  35 ;  Chestnut 
Ridge,  Md.,  21 ;  Chowan  River, 
N.  C,  23;  Coliseum  Place,  La., 
46;  Euhaw,  S.  C,  29;  Pensa- 
cola,  Fla.,  49;  Gilbert's  Creek, 
Ky.,  35  ;  Green  Brier,  W.  Va.,  49 ; 
Gunpowder,  Md.,  21 ;  Harford, 
Md.,  21 ;  High  Hills  of  Santee, 
S.  C,  136;  Ketocton,  Va.,  17; 
Kiokee,  Ga.,  32 ;  Meherrin,  N.  C, 
25;  Mill  Creek,  Va.,  17;  Mill 
Swamp,  Va.,  16;  Opecon,  Va., 
17;  Otterdams,  Va.,  16;  Sandy 
Creek,  N.  C,  84;  Sandy  Run, 
N.  C,  25;  Saters,  Md.,  16;  Sev- 
ern's Valley,  Ky.,  35  :  Simpson's 
Creek,  W.  Va.,  49  ;  Sulphur  Fork 
River,  Tenn.,  120 ;  Taneytown, 
Md.,  21 ;  Tuckaseeking,  Ga.,  29  ; 


368 


INDEX 


Welsh  Tract,  Pa.,  23;  Winter 
Run,  Md.,  21. 

"  Civil  grievances,"  committee  on, 
94. 

Civil  War :  interfering  with  mis- 
sion work,  233 ;  causing  suspen- 
sion of  theological  seminary, 
253. 

Cocke,  C.  L.,  A.M.,  361. 

Clopton,  Rev.  S.  C,  foreign  mis- 
sionary, 217. 

Colleges,  denominational :  germ 
of,  134;  Bethel,  Ky.,  founded, 
and  presidents  of,  153 ;  Carson- 
Newman,  154 ;  Columbian,  144, 
148,  161-163;  Georgetown,  Ky., 
152,  153,  154 ;  Howard,  155,  156 ; 
Keachi,  La.,  160;  Mercer  Uni- 
versity, 146 ;  Mississippi,  157 ; 
Rhode  Island,  135;  Richmond, 
151 ;  J.  B.  Stetson  University, 
161 ;  Wake  Forest,  148. 

Committee  of  correspondence,  or- 
ganized, 188. 

Comer,  Jno.,  24. 

Comstock,  Hon.  O.  C,  leaves  Con- 
gress for  ministry,  191. 

Cone,  Rev.  Spencer  H. :  abandons 
the  stage,  190 ;  position  of,  on 
slavery,  201. 

"Constitution  of  Virginia,"  88. 

Convention.  Southern  Baptist:  oc- 
casion of  its  formation,  199 ;  con- 
servative element  in,  210;  or- 
ganized, 210  ;  first  resolution  in, 
211 ;  addresses  Baptists  of  the 
Union,  211 ;  charges  made  by, 
212;  its  Boards,  214;  difficulties 
of,  215  ;  meets  in  Richmond,  216  ; 
devotional  spirit  of,  217 ;  pro- 
posed operations  of,  on  Pacific 
coast,  218;  efTorts  of,  to  Chris- 
tianize slaves,  218 ;  outline  of  its 
proposed  work,  220  ;  territory  of, 
221;  conditions  afTectiug,  222; 
deliberate  in  choice  of  officials. 


223 ;  zeal  and  ability  in  affairs 
of,  224 ;  missionaries  of,  entering 
Mexico,  236 ;  Bible  and  Sunday- 
school  Boards  organized  by,  239  ; 
claims  of  theological  seminary 
advocated  before,  244  ;  subscrip- 
tions at,  for  seminary,  256  ;  Sun- 
day-schools claiming  attention 
of,  276 ;  committee  of,  to  con- 
sider Sunday-schools,  277 ;  con- 
sidering women's  work,  302  ;  at- 
titude of,  toward  women  repre- 
sentatives, 305 ;  women's  work 
recognized  by,  306 ;  Negro  mis- 
sionaries commissioned  by,  321. 

Cooper  River,  9,  10. 

Corcoran,  Hon.  W.  W.,  163. 

Cornwallis,  Lord,  93. 

Cote,  Dr.  W.  N.,  pioneer  mission- 
ary to  Italy,  234. 

"  Council  of  Safety,"  92. 

Cox,  C.  C,  362. 

Cruelties  to  Baptists,  55. 

Curtis,  R.,  Sr.,  41. 

Cuba,  Diaz  sent  as  missionary  to, 
228. 

Declaration  of  principles,  87. 

Desecration  of  Baptist  churches, 
97. 

Determination  of  Baptists,  86. 

Diaz,  Rev.  A.  J. :  adventure  and 
conversion  of,  228,  229 ;  sent  as 
missionary  to  Cuba,  228  ;  arrest 
and  imprisonment  of,  229. 

District  of  Columbia,  first  church 
in,  49. 

Dobbs,  Gov.,  82. 

Doctrine,  laxness  of  North  Caro- 
lina in,  25. 

Dorris,  Eld.,  removes  from  North 
Carolina  to  Tennessee,  120. 

Dudley,  Rev.  Ambrose:  conse- 
crated missionary,  40;  in  Ten- 
nessee, 120. 

Duke  of  York,  9. 


INDEX 


369 


Eager,  Dr.  J.  H. :  reinforcing  Dr. 
Taylor,  235 ;  quotations  from, 
235 ;  calling  for  money,  236. 

East  Lake,  Ala.,  156. 

Edisto  Island,  14 ;  Edisto  River,  13. 

Edwards,  Rev.  Morgan,  22,  84, 136. 

Education :  beginning  of  denomi- 
national, in  Virginia,136 ;  fund  of 
Charleston  Association,  137 ;  fail- 
ure of  project  for,  in  Louisiana, 
159. 

Ellicott,  Col.  Andrew,  79. 

English  :  Baptists,  10  ;  Act  of  Tol- 
eration, 15,  52;  society  for  the 
propagation  of  the  gospel  in  for- 
eign parts,  14,  71. 

Episcopalians,  irersecute  Baptists, 
53. 

Establishment,  hostile  activity  of. 


Financial  crisis,  146. 

Florida :  education  in,  160,  161 ; 
proposed  work  in,  by  Southern 
Baptist  Convention,  219;  first 
church  in,  established,  219 ;  As- 
sociation organized,  225. 

Forbes,  Pres.  J.  F.,  161. 

Frost,  Dr.  J.  M.,  secretary  of  Sun- 
day-school Board,  240. 

Fuller,  Dr.  R.,  resolution  of,  on 
slavery,  200, 201. 

Furman,  Dr.  R. :  called  to  Charles- 
ton, 114;  gifts  and  leadership  of, 
116,  138;  zeal  and  wisdom  of, 
180,  181 ;  founds  the  South  Caro- 
lina Convention,  181;  precedes 
Luther  Rice  in  missionary  in- 
terest, 181 ;  instructing  young 
people,  267. 

Furman,  Samuel,  140. 

Furman  Theological  Institute : 
founded,  140 ;  suspended,  141. 

Furman  University,  established, 
141. 

Free  Will  Baptists,  The,  340-345. 


Gano,  Rev.  John :  in  Charleston 
Association,  24  ;  removes  to  Ken- 
tucky, 117 ;  in  South  Carolina, 
134  ;  missionary  in  N.  C,  180. 

General  Association  of  Virginia : 
action  of.  86  ;  memorializes  Con- 
vention of  province,  87 ;  per- 
sistency of,  94 ;  firm  remon- 
strance of,  98  ;  organized,  188. 

General  Committee :  activity  of, 
99 ;  superseded  by  committee  of 
correspondence,  188. 

Georgia:  first  Baptist  settlement 
in,  27 ;  firmness  of  Baptists  in, 
75  ;  statistics,  124 ;  leaders,  141 ; 
beginning  of  denominational 
education  in,  143 ;  Convention 
organized,  144  ;  schools  for  girls 
in,  362 ;  slavery  occasions  trouble 
in.  Convention,  206. 

General  Baptists,  The,  347-349. 

Gilmore,  Rev.  J.  R.,  39. 

Graves,  Dr.  J.  R. :  one  of  the  found- 
ers of  "Old  Landmarkism,"  177; 
novel  views  of,  on  Communion, 
178;  editor  of  the  "Tennessee 
Baptist,"  178 ;  ability  of,  178. 

Great  Pedee,  41. 

"Great  Split,  The,"  173. 

Greenville :  theological  seminary 
proposed  to  be  established  at, 
248 ;  educational  meeting  held 
at,  248 ;  seminary  established  at, 
251 ;  members  of  seminary  fac- 
ulty meeting  at,  254 :  seminary 
removed  from,  257 ;  Sunday- 
school  Board  removed  from,  283. 

Griffith,  H.  P.,  356. 

Grimball,  P.,  10. 

Hamilton  and  Rochester,  N.  Y., 

141. 
Hanover  Presbytery,  89. 
Hart,    Rev.    Oliver:     pastor    at 

Charleston,  28, 134  ;  flight  of,  114 ; 

mentioned,  135. 


370 


INDEX 


Hawks,  Dr.,  22,  96,  98. 

Hawthorne,  Dr.  J.  B. :  quotation 
from,  296. 

Henderson,  Pres.  J.  T.,  155. 

Henning,  quoted,  54. 

Henry,  Patrick  :  advice  of,  95 ;  op- 
position of,  to  Baptists,  101. 

"  Herald,  The  Religious,"  286,  287. 

Hillsboro,  resolutions,  83. 

Holcombe,  Dr.  Henry :  conver- 
sion of,  141;  first  pastorate  of, 
141 ;  description  of,  142  ;  public 
service  of,  142 ;  goes  to  Philadel- 
phia, 143 ;  secretary  of  general 
committee  of  Georgia,  182;  his 
mistaken  zeal,  183. 

Holman,  Rev.  R. :  secretary  of  Do- 
mestic Board,  223  ;  retires,  223. 

Holt,  Mre.  C'hloe,  her  heroism,  44. 

Hooper,  Dr.,  141. 

House  of  Burgesses,  Baptists  ex- 
pelled from,  54. 

House  of  Lords,  action  of,  71. 

Howe,  quoted,  91. 

Indians :  depredations  of,  in  Ken- 
tucky, 35 ;  efforts  to  Christianize, 
184. 

Influence  of  South  Carolina  Bap- 
tists, 92,  93. 

Impositions  practised,  70. 

Imprisonment,  Baptist  ministers, 
59-65. 

Jail,  attempt  to  blow  up,  65. 

Japan:  establishment  of  mission 
in,  233  ;  mission  in,  youngest,  238. 

Jefferson,  Thos.,  90. 

"Jerks,"  115. 

Jeter,    Rev.    J.    B. :   mentioned, 

■  149 ;  local  missionary,  188 ;  posi- 
tion of,  on  slavery,  201 ;  prepar- 
ing address  concerning  theologi- 
cal seminary,  249. 

Johnson,  Dr.  W.  B. :  discussing 
education,  139, 143 ;  leadership  of. 


184 ;  president  of  S.  B.  Conven- 
tion, 210. 
Jones,  S.  D.,  361. 

Keling,  H.,  149. 

Kentucky :  Baptists  first  in,  33 ; 
early  meeting-houses  of,  36 ;  pri- 
vations in,  37  ;  revivals  in,  117  ; 
interest  of,  in  education,  152; 
ministerial  education  society, 
153 ;  school  in,  for  girls,  362  ;  mis- 
sionary zeal  of,  192, 193 ;  Conven- 
tion organized,  194 ;  aggressive 
opposition  in,  to  missions,  194 ; 
attitude  of  Baptists  in,  toward 
Suuflay-schools,  273-275. 

Kiokee  Creek,  30. 

Kittery,  Maine,  10. 

"  Landmarkism,  Old  " :  author- 
ship of,  177 ;  decline  of,  178. 

Lee,  Richard  Henry,  opposition  of, 
to  Baptists,  101. 

Leland,  Rev.  John,  letter  of,  to 
Washington,  107,  108. 

Liberia,  mission  established  at, 
233. 

Locke,  John,  10. 

Lossing,  quoted,  82,  83. 

Louisiana :  Roman  Catholicism 
in,  44,  45 ;  first  Baptist  preacher 
in,  44  ;  Baptist  churches  organ- 
ized in,  45;  Association  organ- 
ized, 46 ;  education  in,  157-160. 

Louisville :  educational  conven- 
tion held  at,  247 ;  theological 
seminary  removed  to,  257 ; 
"  Seminary  Magazine "  pub- 
lished at,  293. 

"  Luminary,  The  Latter  Day,"  286. 

Madison,  James:  quoted,  67;  loy- 
alty of,  to  religious  liberty,  88; 
allusion  to,  109. 

Manning,  Dr.,  135. 

Manly,  Dr.  B.,  Sr.,  position  of,  on 
slavery,  204. 


INDEX 


371 


Manly,  Basil,  Jr.,  interested  in 
Sunday-school  work,  277. 

Marion,  Ala.,  156. 

Marshall,  Rev.  Daniel :  becomes  a 
Baptist,  17 ;  leadership  of,  in 
North  Carolina,  26 ;  arrested,  30, 
31 ;  work  of,  during  Revolution, 
122, 123 ;  an  organizer,  123  ;  died, 
125. 

Marshall,  Rev.  Abraham  :  allusion 
to,  122, 125 ;  chairman  of  the  gen- 
eral committee,  182 ;  blunder  of, 
183. 

Marshall,  John,  opposition  of,  to 
Baptists,  101. 

Maryland :  missionaries  from,  to 
Virginia,  16 ;  freedom  from  per- 
secution in,  20;  numerical 
strength  of  Baptists  in,  189; 
Baptist  Union  Association  or- 
ganized in,  190. 

Mason,  George,  aids  Baptists,  101. 

McClanahan,  Eld.,  patriotism  of, 
91. 

McGready,  Rev.  Jas.,  113. 

Mcintosh,  Dr.  W.  H.,  224. 

Memorial  and  remonstrance,  101. 

Mercer,  Rev.  S. :  allusion  to,  122 ; 
character  of,  125. 

Mercer,  Jesse:  influence  of,  142, 
146  ;  leadership  of,  143,  144  ;  was 
chief  founder  of  denominational 
work  in  Georgia,  182 ;  a  prime 
mover  in  the  Powelton  confer- 
ence, 182. 

Meredith,  Rev.  Thos. :  able  advo- 
cacy of  education  by,  186. 

Methodists:  alliance  of,  with  Epis- 
copalians, 94  ;  zeal  of  their  min- 
istry, 130. 

Mexico:  contemplated  as  a  field 
for  missions,  220  ;  establishment 
of  mission  in,  236;  names  of 
missionaries  in,  237 ;  mission 
work  in,  238. 

Miller,  Benj.,  19. 


Ministers :  Anderson,  John,  49 ; 
Anthony,  Joseph,  62;  Bedge- 
wood,  N.,  28  ;  Brooks,  I.  L.,  143  ; 
Brown,  O.  B.,  49;  Campbell,  J. 
H.,  144;  Canterbury,  Jno.,  47; 
Cartlege,  Samuel,  31;  Chapin, 
Dr.  S.,  162;  Childs,  Jas.,  59; 
Compere,  Lee,  184;  Courtney, 
Jas.,  47;  Courtney,  E.,  45; 
Craig,  Lewis,  .59;  Cridlin,  R.  W., 
361 ;  Curtis,  Richard,  Jr.,  41 ; 
Davidson,  Dr.  A.  C,  153 ;  Davis, 
Jno.,  21 ;  DeVotie,  Dr.  J.  H.,  155 ; 
Egan,  Dr.  B.,  158;  Eaton,  Dr.  J. 
H.,  154;  Gerrard,  Jno.,  35;  Gid- 
dings,  Rockwood,  1.52;  Harriss, 
Samuel,  .56;  Hays,  Edmund,  16; 
Healy,  Jno.,  21 ;  Hickman,  Wm., 
34;  Hillman,  Dr.,  157;  Hillman, 
W.,  363;  Holcombe,  Hosea,  155; 
Holman,  R.,  46  ;  Ireland,  James, 
65;  James,  C.  F.,  361;  Keel, 
James,  40;  Kerr,  Jno.,  149;  Kil- 
patrick,  J.  H.  T.,  143;  Lane, 
Tidance,  40;  Lowry,  W.  T.,  362; 
Lynn,  Benj.,  37;  Malcolm,  Dr„ 
152;  Marshall,  Wm.,  37;  Mar- 
shall, J.  P.,  143;  McCall,  T.  S., 
362 ;  McGraw,  A.  G.,  155 ;  McGee, 

Jos.,  47  ;  Mott, ,  40 ;  Murphey, 

Wm.,  40;  Murrell,  Thos.,  40; 
Nicholson,  Jno.,  47;  Nordin, 
Robt.,  16;  Nunnelly,  Dr.  G.  A., 
362:  Palmer,  Wait,  18;  Parker, 
Jos.,  25;  Parker,  Z.,  47;  Parker, 
Jacob,  47 ;  Parkinson,  William, 
49 ;  Peartt,  Wm.,  14  ;  Pugh,  Evan, 
135  ;  Purifoy,  J.  S.,  148  ;  Ranold- 
son,  J.  A.,  45;  Reno,  Wm.,  40; 
Richards,  Lewis,  21 ;  Riley,  M. 
M.,  Dr.,  361;  Ripley,  H.  J.,  143; 
Ryland,  W.  S.,  Dr.,  153;  Sater, 
Henry,  20;  Scott,  Alex.,  33; 
Shelton,  Wm.,  362;  Skaggs,  Jas., 
37;  Smith,  G.  S.,  34;  Stillman, 
Samuel,   135;    Stirk,  Benj.,  28; 


372 


INDEX 


Talbott,  ,  40;  Thomas,  , 

133  ;  Thompson,  Solomon,  33  ; 
Tilley,  Wm.,  14  ;  Tomkies,  C.  W., 
160  ;  Walker,  Sanders,  33  ;  Wal- 
ler, Jno.,   59;   Ware,   Robt.,  58; 

Webber,  Wm.,  62;  White,  , 

12 ;  White,  Thos.,  16 ;  Whitaker, 
Jno.,  37;  Williams,  Jno.,  136; 
Williams,  Robt.,  24  ;  Yates, 
Thomas,  16 ;  Reynolds,  J.  L., 
223,  226  ;  Bestor,  D.  P.,  223 ;  Hol- 
mau,  R.,  223,  226,  276 ;  Walker, 
Joseph,  223  ;  Sumner,  M.  T.,  223  ; 
Mcintosh,  W.  H.,  224  ;  Tichenor, 
I.  T.,  224,  226,  229,  277  ;  Diaz,  A.  J., 
228,  229;  Frost,  Dr.  J.  M.,  240; 
Bell,  Dr.  T.  P.,  240;  Boyce,  Dr.  J. 
P.,  243,  246,  247,  248,  249,  250,  251- 
253,  262  ;  Williams,  Dr.  J.  W.  M., 

243,  302,  303  ;  Clopton,  S.  C,  243  ; 
Tupper,  H.  A.,  243,  302 ;  Wink- 
ler, E.  T.,  243,  249,  277 ;  Manly, 
Dr.  Basil,  Jr.,  243,  244,  249,  277, 
278,  279;  Jeter,  Rev.  J.  B.,  243, 

244,  245,  249;  Johnson,  Rev.  W. 
B.,  243,  244  ;  Howell,  Dr.  R.  C.  B., 
244;  Ryland,  Robert,  244,  311; 
Poindexter,  Dr.  A.  M.,  244,245; 
Manly,  Dr.  Basil,  Sr.,  245,  249; 
Broadus,  Dr.  John  A.,  249,  250, 
252,  253, 263, 264,  282  ;  Whitsitt,  Dr. 
W.  H.,  264  ;  Vaughn,  Dr.  William, 
273;  Bitting,  Dr.  C.  C,  282;  Grif- 
fith, Dr.  Benjamin,  283;  Ford, 
Dr.  S.  H.,  283;  Teasdale,  Dr.  T. 
C,  283;  Graves,  Dr.  J.  R.,  288, 
289  ;  McDonald,  Dr.  Henry,  295  ; 
Tucker,  Dr.  H.  H.,  295;  Jones, 
Dr.  J.  William,  304 ;  Bryan, 
Andrew,  313-315. 

Ministry,  The ;  desire  for  a  better 
qualified,  241 ;  colleges  founded 
for,  242 ;  theological  course  pro- 
vided for,  242;  candidates  for, 
going  North,  242 ;  necessity  of  a 
separate  institution  to  train,  243. 


Missionaries:  Shuck,  Rev.  J.  L., 
230;  Roberts,  Rev.  I.  J.,  230; 
twenty-two  sent  to  China,  231 ; 
sixteen  sent  to  Yoruba,  Africa, 
232  ;  Cote,  Rev.  W.  N.,  234  ;  Tay- 
lor, Dr.  Geo.  B.,  235  ;  Eager,  Dr. 
J.  H.,  2;i5,  236;  sent  to  Brazil, 
236 ;  sent  to  Mexico,  236,  237 ; 
Rice,  Luther,  242,  286;  Judson, 
Adoniram,  242 ;  Cary,  Lot,  315- 
317 ;  six,  sent  to  Africa,  324  ;  ap- 
pointed to  different  stations,  231, 
232,  233;  names  of,  in  Mexico, 
237 ;  of  Sunday-school  Board,  280 ; 
colored,  sent  to  Africa,  321,  324. 

Missionaries,  zeal  of  local,  169. 

Missions  :  conflicts  of,  with  educa- 
tion, 161 ;  zeal  of  early  Baptists 
in,  179;  folly  of  objections  to, 
180 ;  fostered  before  conversion 
of  Judson  and  Rice,  181 ;  early, 
184 ;  opposed  by  commercialism, 
197,  198. 

Mississippi :  Baptists  settle  in,  40 ; 
struggles  of  Baptists  in,  42  ;  per- 
secutions in,  77-79  ;  progress  of, 
126;  steps  to  found  school  in, 
156;  Academy,  156;  schools  for 
girls,  362,  363  ;  Convention  or- 
ganized, 196. 

Moore,  Rev.  M.,  123. 

Negroes,  The :  relation  of  slavery 
to,  310-312;  not  savage  when 
liberation  came,  311 ;  work  of 
Bryan  and  Cary  among,  313- 
317  :  plantation  services  among, 
320 ;  laws  against  instruction  of, 
320;  amusements  and  meetings 
among,  327,  328. 

New  England,  compared  with  Vir- 
ginia, 113. 

"New  Lights,"  17. 

New  Orleans,  battle  of,  121. 

New  Y''ork,  compared  with  Vir- 
ginia, 113. 


INDEX 


373 


North  Carolina:  lirst  Baptists  in, 
22;  couditiou  of,  described,  72; 
persecutions  in,  74,  75 ;  revivals 
in,  113 :  increase  of  members, 
113 ;  educational  movement  in, 
147  ;  schools  for  girls,  301 ;  pecu- 
liar conditions  in,  ISo  ;  Baptist 
Benevolent  Society  in,  185 ;  Con- 
vention organized,  ISO ;  minis- 
terial education  and  missions  in, 
180. 

Norton,  Mr.  W.  F.,  contributing 
ten  thousand  dollars  to  Southern 
seminary,  258,  201,  202. 

Northern  benefactions,  152. 

Officiatiou  at  marriages  allowed, 
99. 

Oglethorpe,  James,  26. 

Original  Free  Will  Baptists,  The, 
345-347. 

Organization :  slow  and  tedious, 
223  ;  of  Bible  Board,  239  ;  of  Sun- 
day-school Board,  239  ;  of  first 
Sunday-school,  269;  of  Sunday- 
school  Union,  271 :  of  Baptist 
women,  299 ;  of  Woman's  Mis- 
sion to  Woman,  301 ;  of  woman's 
movement,  307 ;  of  American 
National  Baptist  Convention, 
324 ;  other  Baptist  families,  337. 

Palmer,  Paul ;  from  Pennsylvania, 
antecedents  uni^nown,  166;  het- 
erodox influence  of,  166. 

Parker,  Daniel :  apostle  of  opposi- 
tion, 172;  work  in  Kentucky, 
194. 

Patey,  J.  G.,  362. 

Pearcy,  Rev.  George,  foreign  mis- 
sionary, 217. 

Peck,  Dr.  J.  M.,  reference  to  Ken- 
tucky Baptists,  192. 

Pelot,  Rev.  Francis:  allusion  to, 
122;  wealth  of,  134. 

Pendleton,  Dr.  J.  M. :  a  professor 


in  Union  University,  154 ;  a 
founder  of  Old  Laudmarkism, 
177. 

Penfleld,  Josiali,  bequest  of,  145. 

Persecution  :  mentioned,  52,  63 ; 
results  from,  127. 

Petitions,  immensity  of,  98. 

Piscataqua  River,  11. 

Poindexter,  Dr.  A.  M.,  162. 

Powelton,  Ga.,  Convention  organ- 
ized at,  145. 

Powell,  Rev.  Dr.  W.  D.,  mission- 
ary leader  in  Mexico,  237,  238. 

Presbyterian  division,  100. 

Press,  the  religious :  Baptists  first 
to  establish,  285;  early  examples 
of,  285 ;  "  The  Latter  Day  Lumi- 
nary," 286 ;  "  The  Religious  Her- 
ald," 287;  "The  Biblical  Re- 
corder," 287,288;  "The  Western 
Recorder,"  288;  "The  Tennes- 
see Baptist."  288,  289;  "The 
Southern  Baptist,"  289,  290; 
other  examples  of,  290-293 : 
American  Baptist  Publication 
Society  closely  allied  with,  293- 
296;  early  appreciated  by  Bap- 
tists, 332. 

Publication  Society,  American 
Baptist :  aid  from,  to  Sunday- 
school  Board,  283;  needed  aid 
extended  by,  284 ;  allied  to  de- 
nominational press,  293-296 :  aid- 
ing work  in  South,  295;  estab- 
lishing branches,  295,  296 ;  liter- 
ature of,  helpful,  296. 

Ramsey  quoted,  69. 

Regulators,  82. 

Revivals:   after  Revolution,  112; 

"  the  great,"  117. 
"Recorder:     The  Biblical,"   287, 

288;  "The  Western,"  288. 
Revolution,    Baptist   strength    in 

beginning  of,  110. 
Reynolds,  Rev.  J.  L.,  141,  223. 


374 


INDEX 


Rice,  Luther,  137,  144, 181. 

Rights  denied,  64. 

Roberts,  Dr.  J.  M.,  136. 

Rockefeller,  Mr.  J.  D. :  interested 
in  Southern  seminary,  262 ;  giv- 
ing to  Educational  Society,  297. 

Ruggles,  Prof.  W.  M.,  162. 

Ryland,  Dr.  Robert,  150. 

Samson,  Dr.  G.  W.,  163. 

Sanders,  B.  M.,  143,  146. 

San  ford,  S.  P.,  146. 

Savage,  Pres.  M.  C,  154. 

Savannah,  First  Baptist  Church, 
142. 

Schools,  denominational :  Furman 
Academy,  139:  Georgetown  Lit- 
erary and  Theological  Institute, 
152  ;  Hempstead  Academy,  156 ; 
Mercer  Institute,  145 ;  Mt.  Enon 
Academy,  142  ;  Southern  Baptist 
College,  146 ;  Wake  Forest  Insti- 
tute, 147  :  Women's,  163,  164. 

Screven,  William,  10,  11. 

Seminary,  Southern  Theological : 
steps  leading  to,  243,  244;  claims 
of,  advocated  before  Conven- 
tion, 244 ;  committee  appointed 
to  consider,  245,  246 ;  proposal  to 
establish,  at  Greenville,  247 ; 
plans  proposed  for,  250 ;  estab- 
lished at  Greenville,  251 ;  three 
"Bs"  concerning,  251;  funds 
raised  for,  251 ;  leaders  in  the 
establishment  of,  252  ;  professors 
chosen  for,  252;  suspended  by 
Civil  War,  253  ;  faculty  of,  meet- 
ing at  Greenville  after  war,  254  ; 
protracted  struggle  of,  254,  255  ; 
aid  from  North  for,  256 ;  removal 
of,  agitated,  256 ;  removed  to 
Louisville,  257 ;  generous  dona- 
tions to,  258 ;  new  life  for,  259 ; 
endowment  secured  for,  259 ; 
choice  of  location  for,  260 ;  ad- 
dition to  resources  of,  260-262 ; 


removal  of  Dr.  Boyce  from,  by 
death,  262 ;  Dr.  Broadus  becom- 
ing president  of,  263 ;  value  of 
property  of,  264;  Dr.  Whitsitt, 
president  of,  264 ;  attendance  of, 
265. 

Semple,  R.  B.,  112,  138. 

Separates :  Stearns,  founder  of,  167  ; 
oppose  establishment,  167 ;  zeal 
of,  168. 

Separates  and  Regulars :  fusion  of, 
111 ;  in  Kentucky,  119. 

Seventh  Day  Baptists,  The,  338- 
340. 

Sherman,  S.  S.,  156. 

Sherwood,  Dr.  A.,  143,  144,  146. 

Shuck,  Rev.  J.  L.,  217. 

Slavery  ;  factor  in  denominational 
affairs,  199 ;  three  phases  of  as 
an  institution,  199,  200 ;  efforts 
to  avert  trouble  because  of,  200  ; 
occasions  trouble  in  Triennial 
Convention,  202 ;  Foreign  Mis- 
sion Board  of  Triennial  Conven- 
tion upon,  205  ;  occasions  disso- 
lution between  Northern  and 
Southern  Baptists,  206 ;  irrita- 
tion concerning,  continues,  209. 

Smith,  Rev.  James,  his  missionary 
zeal  and  capture,  192. 

Somerton,  10. 

Society  :  American  Baptist  Publi- 
cation, 293-296;  American  Bap- 
tist Home  Mission,  296,  297 ; 
American  Baptist  Education, 
297  ;  Woman's  Missionary,  299 ; 
African  Missionary,  317. 

South  Carolina:  first  Baptists  in, 
10 ;  growth  of  denomination  in, 
after  Revolution,  115 ;  leads  in 
education,  138  ;  organization  of. 
Convention,  138;  establishes 
denominational  school,  139 ; 
schools  for  girls  in,  361. 

"Southern  Missionary  Journal," 
218. 


INDEX 


375 


Stearnes,  S.,  17,  26. 

Stetson,  J.  B.,  161. 

Staughton,  Dr.  William,  152. 

Sumner,  Dr.  M.  T.,  223. 

Sunday-schools:  first,  in  Mary- 
laud,  22 ;  information  concern- 
ing earliest,  scant,  266 ;  first  one 
of,  organized,  269 ;  becoming 
more  numerous,  269  ;  opposition 
to,  270 ;  impulse  to,  by  Sunday- 
school  Union,  271 ;  advocated  by 
North  Carolina  Baptists,  271 ; 
deliverance  concerning,  from 
Mississippi  Baptists,  271,  272  ;  ex- 
pressions concerning,  from  Ala- 
bama, 273 ;  opposition  to,  in 
Kentucky,  273,  274 ;  improved 
attitude  toward,  274 ;  unde- 
nominational literature  for,  de- 
nounced, 274 ;  claiming  atten- 
tion of  Southern  Convention, 
276 ;  appointment  of  committee 
for  consideration  of,  277 ;  culti- 
vated in  the  South  by  Publica- 
tion Society,  295 ;  address  con- 
cerning, to  Baptists  of  South, 
278. 

Taylor,  Rev.  John,  40,  120. 

Taylor,  Dr.  J.  B.,  Sr.,  149,  210. 

Taylor,  Dr.  Geo.  B.,  235. 

Tennessee:  first  Baptists  in,  38; 
statistics,  121 ;  Southwestern 
University  in,  154;  schools  for 
girls  in,  362;  reaction  against 
missions  in,  171,  195. 

Tensas  Settlement,  preaching  in, 
47. 

Texas :  University  of,  153 ;  pro- 
posed occupation  of,  219. 

Tichenor,  Dr.  I.  T. :  secretary  of 
Home  Mission  Board,  224;  re- 
marks of,  quoted,  227. 

Travis,  Alexander,  47,  155. 

Triennial  Convention,  162. 

Tories,  41. 


Two-Seed-in-the-Spirit  Predestina- 
rian  Baptists,  The,  356-360. 

Union,  Woman's  Missionary  :  con- 
stitution of,  305,  306 ;  headquar- 
ters of,  306;  recommendations 
concerning,  307,  308 ;  women 
foremost  in  establishment  of, 
308. 

United  Baptists,  The,  349-351. 

University  of  Virginia,  151. 

Union  University,  154. 

Vanhoru,  P.  P.,  19. 

Vestry  Act,  81. 

Vii-ginia :  persecution  in,  15 ;  first 
missionary  operations  in,  16 ; 
President  Manning's  letter  to 
Baptists  of,  135 ;  general  meeting 
of  correspondence,  136;  Baptist 
Educational  Society  of,  149; 
cautionary  measures  taken  in, 
149;  manual  labor  school  in, 
150;  Baptist  Seminary,  150; 
Richmond  College  founded  in, 
1-51 ;  schools  for  girls,  151 ;  Bap- 
tist separation  suggested  in,  206. 

Walker,  Rev.  J.,  causes  trouble, 
125. 

Walker,  S.,  ordination  of,  126. 

Warne,  Prof.  J.  A.,  139. 

Washington,  D.  C. :  denomination 
begins  in,  190 ;  difficulties  in,  191. 

Washington,  George :  opposition 
of,  to  Baptists,  101 ;  letter  from, 
108,  109. 

Wayland,  Dr.  Francis :  discussion 
of,  with  Fuller,  202 ;  champion 
of  opposition  to  slavery,  207. 

Welling,  Dr.  J.  C,  163. 

Wesley,  John,  27. 

West  Virginia,  Baptists  enter,  49. 

Western  Baptist  Theological  Insti- 
tute, 153. 

Westrup,  Rev.  J.  0.  and  I.  W.,  236. 


376 


INDEX 


Whitsitt,  Dr.  W.  H.,  becoming 
president  of  Southern  Theolog- 
ical Seminary,  264. 

Whitefleld,  George,  18;  Orphan 
Home,  27,  28. 

Whitman,  Dr.  B.  L.,  163. 

Wil'.iford,  W.  L.,  155. 

Wingate,  President,  148. 

Winyaw  Bay,  12. 

Witt,  Daniel,  188. 

Woolsey,  Dr.,  52. 

Women,  Baptist:  organization  of, 
299;  feeling  against  worlc  of, 
300  ;  movements  connected  with, 
300-302  ;    report  upon  work  of, 


302;  work  of,  considered  by 
Southern  Convention,  302-305 ; 
representation  of,  in  Southern 
Convention,  305 ;  work  of,  recog- 
nized by  Southern  Convention, 
306;  movement  of,  organized, 
307 ;  recommendations  concern- 
ing, 307,  308  ;  work  of,  efficient, 
308;  funds  contributed  by,  308, 
309;  institutions  for,  361-363. 

Young,  Rev.  John,  194. 
Yoruba,  Africa:  missionaries  ap- 
pointed to,  232. 

Zeal  of  Baptist  ministry,  47. 


I.  A  History  of  the  Baptists  in  New  England. 
By  Henry  S.  Burrage,  D.  D.    Published. 

II.  A  History  of  the  Baptists  in  the  Middle 
States. 
By  Prof.  Henry  C.  Vedder.    Published. 

III.  A  History  of  the  Baptists  in  the  Western 

States  East  of  the  Mississippi. 
By  Justin  A.  Smith,  D.  D.    Published. 

IV.  A  History  of  the  Baptists  in  the  Southern 

States  East  of  the  Mississippi. 
By  Prof.  B.  F.  Riley.     Published. 

V.  A  History  of  the  Baptists  in  the  Trans- 
Mississippi  States. 
By  Lemuel  Moss,  D.  D.,  LL.  D. 

These  volumes  are  uniform  in  style  and  price, 
12mo,  320  pp.  (or  more).  Price  per  volume,  $1.25. 
Price  per  set,  $4.50  (net). 


The  volumes  are  independent  histories.  Each  is 
complete  in  itself,  with  index,  etc.  At  the  same 
time  they  form  a  complete  history  of  the  denomi- 
nation down  to  the  time  of  publication. 


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A  history  of  the  Baptists  in  the 

Princeton  Theological  Semmary-Speer  Library 


1    1012  00020  6351 


